The Longest Week Ever
by Rachey
Summary: A week can be a long time..especially when you're stuck in a small area with four other people! Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Draco learn this the hard way when Voldemort's attack leaves them stranded in the library. Their lives will never be the same!
1. The Attack

Summary: Voldemort's sudden attack leaves Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, _and_ Draco stuck in the library. Leave any group of teenagers in a confined area for a week, and interesting things are bound to happen as friendship, hatred, and family ties are forgotten. Lots of romantic triangles, deception, love games, and other fun stuff!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, settings, etcetera; nor am I in any way associated with JK Rowling, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, or whatever the British publishing company is called. I'm just me, a silly fan who likes to write stories. I am making no profit from this story except to keep myself (and hopefully others) entertained while waiting for the sixth book. So please don't sue me, I'm a poor college student and have nothing to offer anyway. This disclaimer will apply to all subsequent chapters.

The Longest Week Ever

Chapter One

The Attack

"Guys, we shouldn't be doing this." Hermione's voice was anxious as her eyes darted around the deserted hallway. "It's against the rules." Although she had become more accepting to breaking rules than she was when they first came to Hogwarts, Hermione still liked to have a good reason to do so. Take saving the school from destruction or freeing an innocent man from having his soul sucked out, for example. Now those were good reasons to break the rules. Simply playing a silly prank, however, was not justifiable in her mind.

Ron rolled his eyes from beneath his mop of red hair. "Geesh, Hermione, would you just relax? We're not even breaking any rules, anyway."

"Of course we're not," Harry agreed, a gleam of mischief in his eyes. "Nowhere does it say that we have to be in the Great Hall during lunch time."

"But why couldn't we do this some other time?" Hermione insisted. "Because we don't want to be seen, that's why. And if we don't want to be seen, then we must be doing something wrong." They had finally reached the library, and quietly tip-toed inside.

Much to their relief, the library was empty. It made sense, though. No one was crazy enough to study during mealtime. Even Madam Pince's desk was vacant, save an enchanted clock that showed when she would return from lunch.

"Perfect," Ron grinned as he marched toward a stack of books. Harry followed, but Hermione continued to hang back.

"C'mon, 'Mione." Harry motioned for her to come over as he sat down at a table. "We don't even need to get anything from the Restricted Section."

"Yeah, but we need you," Ron plopped down into a seat next to Harry, throwing an armful of books on the table. "This will be the greatest thing in Hogwarts history. We'll be known for years."

"And get detention for years," Hermione countered as she approached her friends, hands firmly planted on her hips.

"But he's a slimy git," Ron insisted. "He deserves it." Harry and Ron had hatched the genius plan after the last potions session when Draco Malfoy had slipped an ingredient into Ron's cauldron so that the potion he was mixing exploded in his face- and earned him detention and fifty points from Gryffindor for the mess. That night, they had intensely looked through Hermione's books until they found the ideal potion: one that would cause the taker to say the exact opposite of whatever he wanted. The best part of it all was that the potion was irreversible- you just have to wait a month until it wears off. It was perfect for revenge- they could just see Malfoy calling Snape a git and telling Hermione that he was in love with her! Unfortunately, the potion was extremely complicated. "Besides," Ron added, "you're the only one who can make this happen. You could practically teach our potions class, you're so smart."

Still looking hesitant, Hermione carefully picked up a book. "I suppose. But it isn't an easy process. It could take several weeks, actually."

"We have all year!" Harry smiled, and opened his mouth to say something else when he was interrupted as the library door flew open.

In stomped Ginny Weasley. Her hair was just as red as that of her older brother, pulled into an untidy bun at the nape of her neck. As the color of her face matched that of her flaming hair, she was apparently quite irritated.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly scrambled to cover what they were looking at. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, save it!" she growled. Ginny had grown accustomed to her brother and his best friends always hiding something or another, and had stopped caring long ago. Slamming a package on the table, Ginny crossed her arms over her chest.

"Erroll dropped this off for you, and you weren't there to get it," she scowled. "Dean and Seamus offered to take it to you, but you know how nosy they are- they would have just opened it themselves. Normally I wouldn't care, but it's from Fred and George, and you know how secretive they are about such things." Ginny raised her voice, nailing in the point that she was none too happy. "So I had to interrupt my lunch, leave the table, and hunt you down. Why can't you just follow the rules like normal people?"

"No need to go all howler on me, Gin," Ron muttered as he reached for the package. Fred and George, now in ownership of their own joke shop, always sent their new ideas to Ron before marketing them, to see what he thought. Ron was only allowed to show Harry, Hermione, and Ginny; because Fred and George were paranoid that the product models might somehow slip out to the competition. "It's bloody heavy," Ron remarked.

"You're telling me," yelled Ginny, "I had to lug it around the castle while I searched for you! If I didn't love Fred and George so much, I'd have just given it to Peeves or something."

Ron started to open the package, and then glared at Ginny. "You can return to your meal now."

Ginny sat down in the chair across from him. "No. I carried it all this way, now I want to see what's inside it." Harry audibly sighed, obviously annoyed by Ginny. She shot him a dirty look. Just the past year, something had happened between the two. The first four years Ginny had been hopelessly in love with Harry. Last year, she had finally given that up and they were just friends. This year, however (Ginny's fifth and Harry's sixth) they acted like they hated each other. No one was quite sure what exactly went on between the two, because everyone was too afraid to ask.

Hermione nervously played with her unruly mass of hair as Ron tore the wrapping away. She didn't like the tension that was building. Harry was always so kind to everyone, but for some reason he was just plain cruel to Ginny. Sure, she wasn't nice to him either. But that wouldn't justify it- Harry was a genuinely good guy. There was no reason he should despise Ginny so. Deep down, Hermione thought that he was hurt by Ginny's attitude. Of course he would never admit it, so she never brought it up.

"What's this?" Ron asked as the paper yielded a large bag made of red velvet. He stuck his head inside. "Even though it's so heavy, it's empty."

"Read the instructions, you prat." Ginny snatched a piece of parchment that had fallen to the side and read it out loud. "'The Bott's Bag. Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, in cooperation with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, is proud to present you with the latest in pranking accessories. Simply reach inside and pull out an item of food. But beware; things are not always as they appear. The item pulled out must be eaten before the same hand can receive another flavor. Enjoy!' Hey, look. Fred and George added a note: 'Ron- we thought you would especially like this because you're always hungry! Tell us what you think.'"

Ron reached in the bag and pulled out a massive chicken wing. "Bloody hell!" he remarked. "I didn't realize how hungry I was!" He took a big bite of the wing, and the expression on his face changed. The others laughed.

"What is it, Ron?" asked Harry. "Does it taste like ear wax?"

Ron swallowed. "No, not at all. In fact it tastes like chocolate!" He took another big bite, now talking with his mouth full. "It's delicious, but a bit funny to eat chicken that tastes like chocolate!" He extended the bag to the others so they could try. Harry and Ginny reached for it at the same time, and their hands collided. Both quickly pulled away.

"What's the matter, Potter, never touched a girl before?" The voice was immediately distinguishable. All four students let out a collective groan as they turned to see Draco Malfoy's form stepping into the room.

"What are you doing in a library, Malfoy?" Ron quickly retorted. "I didn't even know you knew how to read."

"Very funny, Weasel. Have you been practicing?" Draco sounded thoroughly infuriated. Truth was, he was angrier than he let on. Every day he managed to slip away from the Slytherin table during lunch for a few minutes of peace and quiet. Those stolen moments in the library- away from cronies and groupies- were the only things that kept him sane. And now a clan of Gryffindors was invading his space. Not just any Gryffindors, either. No, these had to be the four people that he hated most out of the entire school. "I don't know why I bother, speaking to you is just a waste of breath." He turned to leave, but just as he took a step towards the door, it crumbled in. "What the..."

The room was suddenly filled with a loud rumbling noise. The ground shook like an earthquake, and towers of stacked books began to fall. The four Gryffindors jumped to their feet, running from the falling debris. The windows shattered, and the lights flickered and went out. The students scrambled in all directions, looking for some sort of protection. Chaos ensued, and one by one the each student was knocked out.


	2. Trapped

Chapter Two- Trapped

Ginny moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. The ceiling of the library was a blur, and she moaned again as she tried to sit up, her every muscle screaming in protest. Ginny continued to lay stationary for a moment or two before the full reality of what had happened set in. She jumped to her feet, dust and debris falling off her robes as her eyes darted around the room. Her head pounded- from her fall or from standing up so fast, she could not tell. All she was concerned with was her brother.

"Ron!" She cried, searching through the wreckage. Of course Ron infuriated her most of the time- that was what any good big brother was supposed to do. But she really did love him, and right now was really concerned. Her eyes finally fell on a foot sticking out of a pile of books, and she rushed over.

Flinging books from the motionless figure, Ginny struggled to hold back tears. She finally saw skin and cloth from under the pages, and gathered the body in her arms, burying her face in his neck. "I was so scared," she murmured as she felt him stir. "I'm so glad you're alright, I'm so sorry for being spiteful to you."

The body shifted. "I never knew you cared, Weaselette." Upon hearing the sarcastic drawl, Ginny pulled back and stared at the boy her arms were wrapped around. White-blond hair...icy blue eyes...trademark sneer. She shrieked and pushed him away.

"Ginny, I never would have guessed," Ron's mocking voice came from behind. She turned to see her brother- a bit bruised, but alive and well. Hermione and Harry stood behind him.

"I would've," muttered Harry under his breath. Ginny frowned at him, but ignored the comment. She got to her feet; trying to maintain whatever dignity she had left.

"What happened?" she asked, pointing to the mess surrounding them.

Hermione spoke up. "Hogwarts was attacked. My best guess is that it was Voldemort, but we can't be sure."

"Yes we can," said Harry, his hand going to his forehead. "My scar. It's killing me. Ever since we last saw Voldemort at the Department of Mysteries, I haven't felt a thing. But now, it hurts worse than ever."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Finally, Draco broke the silence. "I don't know about you losers, but I'm not going to hang around here while the castle is under siege." He stood and walked to the other side of the room. "I hope there is some way out of here. I can't imagine being stuck here with you four for any extended period of time." He shuttered.

"The door caved in, you git," said Ron. "It's not like you can just walk out."

"Does anyone have their wand?" mused Hermione. "I didn't bring mine along.

Draco patted his pockets, knowing that he would find nothing. He had left his robe at the Slytherin table- wand and all.

"I have mine," Ron stretched out his hand, and in it were two shattered pieces of wood. His face twisted in distress- not again. "It's absolutely useless." Harry also shrugged, indicating that he didn't have his.

All eyes turned to their last hope- Ginny. She shook her head. "I had it, I know I did. But I must have lost it in the attack."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "There is no way I'm going to just stand here any longer with you idiots. I'm going to go look for a way out. You four search for Weaselette's wand." He stormed across the library.

"Glad he's gone," said Ron unhappily. "Now let's look for the wand. They may need our help out there." Ginny silently rolled her eyes. These three seemed to think that they could always save the day. Then again...they usually did.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione placed her hand on Harry's shoulder. He was leaning over, his hand still on his forehead.

He straightened up. "I'm fine. I wish I could do something, though. But that's no use while we're trapped in here. Let's just find the wand."

But a two hour search produced nothing. Draco also came back from his exploration for an exit empty handed. Everyone seemed to have resigned to the idea that they would never find the wand. Hermione was sitting in a corner, reading a book. Harry and Ron were whispering intently to each other, Ginny was staring at the wall with an angry look on her face, and Draco just stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed.

"So you're just going to give up?" he yelled. All eyes turned to him. "I can't believe this. You're Gryffindors- you're supposed to be able to get out of messes."

Ron shook his head. "Face it Malfoy- we're stuck here. There's no way out. Hermione is looking in the books, but most likely she won't find anything we can do without a wand. And if you want to look for Ginny's wand, go for it. I am frankly tired of searching."

Ginny stomped over to Hermione's corner and took a seat, picking up a book. She didn't want to deal with listening to them bicker. Harry and Ron resumed their talk, and Draco started to push away random debris with his foot, as if too dignified to bend down and actually search. Eventually, he gave up and started to pace across the room. Back and forth, back and forth, back and...

"Stop it!" Ginny slammed down her book. "I can't focus with your incessant pacing."

Draco sneered. "I'm hungry," he whined.

Ginny marched across the room, and grabbed a red bag from under a broken table. She then walked over to Draco and shoved it in his hands without a word, returning to Hermione's side to resume reading.

Draco lifted the bag and examined it. It sure was heavy. With a shrug he reached inside and pulled out a rock. He gave it a puzzled look. Harry and Ron smiled as they watched him.

Harry laughed. "Eat it."

Draco gave him a horrified look. "A rock?"

"It's a joke bag," Ron also laughed. "It won't taste like a rock."

Draco hesitantly lifted it to his mouth. He didn't have much other choice. But much to his surprise, it tasted like mashed potatoes. As he took another bite from the rock, Ron snatched the bag out of his hands. He and Harry sat at one of the only remaining tables, and continued to talk while having "lunch" from the bag.

Having polished off the potato-rock, Draco was once again left with nothing to do. He resumed his pacing, if for no reason other than to annoy the Weasley girl. But now she was completely oblivious, engrossed in that silly book. He scowled, angry that his little game was having no effect. What was he to do now? Surely not read.

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as Draco sunk to the floor in pure boredom, leaning against one of the few towering bookcases that were still standing. Ginny cast him a glare that he pretended not to see. He reached behind him, pulled out a random book, and opened it to a random page, pretending to read.

He wasn't really reading, of course. He had briefly skimmed the page, but finding that it was about hippogriff attacks (something he would rather not remember), he quickly lost interest. His eyes lazily wandered around the room, searching for something to do. He looked over at Harry and Ron, glad that he was out of range to hear them talking. He was tired of their incessant whining. He then looked at the mudblood, but could only look for so long. His hatred for her had been firmly established for six years and counting, and the sight of her made his stomach churn. Eventually, his eyes landed on the redhead spitfire herself.

If there was any chance that she would notice, Draco would not have stared at Ginny. But she was still reading the book closely, absentmindedly twirling a finger around a loose strand of hair.

Under any other circumstance, he wouldn't give the girl a second glance. He was Draco Malfoy- top class wizard, the best of the best. Even though the Weasleys were purebloods, they were still poor and muggle-sympathizers. A Malfoy wouldn't be caught dead looking at, much less staring at one.

But desperate times call for desperate measures. And even though they had been in the library for barely three hours, Draco was a normal seventeen year old boy and his mind automatically went to one thing: the opposite sex.

And she wasn't that bad of a specimen, save the last name. He watched her scrunch her nose as she read. Okay, so it wasn't that attractive. But other than that...and the name...and the freckles...and that horrid red hair...

Draco shook his head. Who was he kidding? She was repulsive! He was used to the crème of the crop, and this one could hardly hope to measure up to some of the girls he had been with.

But then again...his hormones continued to argue with his mind. The red hair wasn't that bad. It was fiery, like her personality. And that was definitely a turn on. She was sassy, and he liked that in a woman. It would certainly be fun to seduce her. And her eyes weren't bad either. Draco had always preferred blue eyes, but there was something about Ginny's honey colored eyes that just worked for her.

However, the freckles were unforgivable. No matter how he looked at them, they were not attractive- at all. But as his eyes continued to take her in, he decided that her body more than made up for the hideousness sprinkled across her nose.

She was tall, like her brother. She had an unmistakable growth spurt this past year, and now towered above most girls. Height meant long legs- and Draco loved legs. Plus, she wasn't stick thin, as a lot of girls who considered themselves attractive were. Rather, she had curves. And Draco loved curves.

His mind continued to wander, ignoring the relentless protests of his instincts that were insisting he stop fantasizing about a Weasley. This was a special circumstance. Certain exceptions had to be made. And this girl was definitely going to be an exception, he thought as him mind turned from daydreaming to devising. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad being stranded in here. In fact, Draco found himself hoping that they would be stuck for at least a day. That Weaselette would never see it coming...

As if on cue, her eyes darted up and met his. He held them for a moment, delighted to see panic and confusion in the brown orbs. She quickly gained her composure and narrowed her eyes angrily before putting the book in front of her face. Draco snickered. This was going to be more fun than he thought.

Abruptly, Ginny put down her book and stood up. "I have to go to the bathroom," she announced. Draco's face twisted. Nothing like vile body functions to ruin the mood. But the Weaselette did have a point. If they were going to be stuck in there for a while, they would need some way to relieve themselves, and not in the way that Draco had previously been imagining. That also brought up many other problems. The food was solved with that ridiculous bag. But where would they sleep? And how would they bathe? Things were looking worse and worse as Draco just stared at Ginny, along with the empty looks of Harry, Hermione, and Ron; who had also come to the conclusion that being stuck in a library was going to be anything like fun.


	3. Challenges

Chapter Three- Challenges

(Alternative chapter title: Draco Puts the _Restricted_ in "Restricted Section")

Everyone stared at Ginny open-mouthed. Ron dropped the caramel flavored towel he had been munching and scratched his head. Harry buried his face in his hands with frustration and Draco just sneered. "You Gryffindors aren't particularly known for hygiene, you know," he drawled. "I don't want to find out how much worse you smell after a week...or even a day."

Ron and Harry jumped to their feet angrily. A small smile played on Hermione's lips as she peered up from her book. _Should I tell them?_ She observed Ginny walk up to Draco with her fists clenched. Hermione hid her grin with the book. _Not quite yet_.

"Would you be quiet, Malfoy?" Ginny spat, her face buring and her blood boiling. Being trapped was bad enough, she could not contemplate the hell it would surely be with this prat insulting them at every opportunity. "In a few days you're not going to be smelling too pretty either." She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Releasing her fists from the tight balls they had formed, she firmly placed her hands on her hips and continued with the most rational voice she could muster. "It's unbearable enough that we have to be stuck in here with each other, let's try to eliminate the cleanliness problems first."

Harry muttered something under his breath and the fire reignited in Ginny's eyes as she turned to him, teeth bared. That was Hermione's cue. She didn't mind seeing her friends argue with Draco, but when they turned on each other, she drew the line. "It's all right, guys," she said calmly, standing up.

Draco focused her malicious eyes on her and once again sneered. "Of course you would say that, mudblood. What do you know about being sanitary anyway?"

Before Harry or Ron had a chance to jump in and defend her honor (which she knew they would do), Hermione quickly explained herself. "I don't mean we have to bear it. I mean there's a lavatory in here." She received four blank stares. With a laborious sigh, she continued. "I'm not really supposed to tell anyone, but I'm sure this exception can be made. During my first year, especially before I was friends with Harry and Ron, I spent all my time in the library. It began to get annoying to go all the way to the common room when I had to use the bathroom. So Madame Pince let me use hers."

Ginny was surprised. "A bathroom...here? How come we didn't know about it? Where is it?"

"Right next to her bedroom," Hermione answered, as if it made perfect sense.

Draco snickered. "The old biddy sleeps in the library?" Harry and Ron also laughed.

Hermione grew defensive. "Of course she does. Most of the professors have their personal chambers adjacent to their offices. They have to live somewhere you know." The boys were silenced- it actually did made sense.

It was Ginny who finally spoke up. "Well..." she started, jumping from foot to foot. "Could ya show it to us? I really gotta go!"

Hermione smiled, grabbed Ginny's hand, and started walking toward the back of the room. Harry and Ron followed, but Draco hung back. If this was going to work, the Weaselette really needed to stop doing such unappealing things like scrunching her nose and doing the potty dance. He assured himself that it would all be worth it, and hurried to catch up with the others.

Ron fell backwards onto the four-post bed. "This is comfortable," he said as he stared at the ceiling. "So how are we going to decide who gets to sleep on it?"

Draco paced around the small room, taking it all in. It was accessed through a door hidden by a bookcase (how cliché, he thought). There was a bed, a small bedstand, and a wardrobe. Opposite of the secret bookcase door was the door to the bathroom. He hadn't a chance to look in it before the female Weasley ran inside. The bed was relatively large- it could certainly fit more than one person. But there was no way in hell he would share the bed with any Gryffindor...well, there was one, but he would have to work around to that. He waited a moment before answering the question. "Do you have no sense of etiquette?" he jeered as he faced Ron. "Of course the ladies get the bed. It's only right."

Harry whipped around from the wall painting he had been observing. "You have manners, Malfoy? Who knew?"

Not allowing himself to be ruffled, Draco smiled steadily as he stared down Harry. "Of course, Potter. Where I come from, they teach us decency and chivalry. Concepts obviously foreign to you."

Ron sat up. That didn't make any sense. Malfoy was never civil towards Hermione. But then again, Draco seemed to think that her bloodline somehow made her less than human. Ron decided not to say anything because he didn't want to provoke any arguments. It had been bad enough already in the short time they had been in the library together. He lay back down on the bed, wondering when and how they would get out.

Smiling at the fact that he had won the little spat with Harry, Draco sauntered over to the wardrobe and raised his hands to open it, stopping upon hearing the bathroom door open. He watched as Ginny Weasley emerged. Her hair was once again secured tightly in a bun, all stray stands tucked away, and her face was shinning from being freshly scrubbed, the freckles standing out more prominently than ever. She held her robes in her arms, wearing simply her school skirt and blouse which showed more of what had previously been left up to Draco's imagination. Overall, he decided that it was satisfactory. Could be better, but acceptable. Much better than before she freshened up, at least. Noticing his scrutiny, Ginny glowered and shoved past him, stalking off into the library. Draco smirked once more. She wasn't going to make this easy. He was glad.

But the fun, once again, would have to wait, as Draco realized that he really had to use the bathroom too. He walked up to the door, but Hermione slipped past him. "How chivalrous of you," she said with a devious grin before closing the door.

Draco shook his head as he glared at the wooden door he now found himself facing. "She's not a woman, she's a mud..." before finishing the sentence, he looked over his shoulder, seeing Harry and Ron's threatening stares. "Err...scratch that." Of course he always spoke his mind- he was Draco Malfoy, he never backed down on the account of some freckle faced weasel and four-eyed toad. But without the company Crabbe and Goyle, his will to speak his mind diminished quickly. No way he was going to pick a fight, especially when these two were already acting like McGonagall with PMS. He gave them his best innocent grin, crossed his arms across his chest, and leaned against the bathroom door, patiently waiting his turn.

Ginny sighed. Okay, so they had a bathroom, and even a place to sleep. But that didn't solve the boredom problem. She took in the library, which under normal conditions was looming and threatening, but now it was downright scary. The long room had lost its symmetry, some towering shelves remained standing, and some blocked the path on the floor. Books were strewn everywhere, and rays of light from the high windows cast creepy shadows over everything.

Ginny slowly started to walk around the library. This was Hermione's view of Heaven- nothing but books and more books. But Ginny needed something to do, not just sit around staring at a page of paper. Reading for barely twenty minutes before, she had grown extremely uninterested. Besides, she had never been big on reading. Rounding a corner, Ginny decided that she might as well learn to love the activity- there wasn't much else to do in a library, especially when you're stuck with four people you'd rather not talk to. She reached out a hand to the nearest shelf and was about to grab a book when she observed that it had chains around it. Running her fingers along the spines of the books, she realized that she was in the Restricted Section.

Alarms going of in her head, Ginny hurriedly drew her hand away and started running in the opposite direction. Then she stopped. Why shouldn't she just read one of those books? It really was a small transgression considering all that was going on. And it wasn't like she had Filch breathing down her neck or anything.

But then there was the small fact that she was scared. It was true- she had been a bit afraid of books ever since the whole fiasco with Tom Riddle's diary. Not afraid of class texts or anything, just of books with the potential to be evil- like the ones in this section. But she would have to get over that silly fear at one time or another. And there would never be an opportunity better than this one.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny reached out and grabbed the nearest book. A quick glance at the title revealed that evilness wasn't the only factor that put a book in the Restricted Section. Her eyes had barely grazed the words 101 Uses for your Wand Other that Magic- a Witch's Guide to Driving a Wizard Wild before she dropped the book and moved away from it like it would bite her. Pushing back a stray strand of hair, Ginny nervously chewed her lip and peered over her shoulder, as if afraid someone would catch her even looking at something so smutty. Her eyes returned to the book. She didn't know that such reading materials existed, let alone in the Hogwarts library!

Cool water splashed over the porcelain skin as he wet his hair, and he left his head hanging down as the droplets fell down the drain. Strands of his silvery hair fell in front of his eyes, which he closed. He remained still for a minute, savoring the feel of the water running from his hair to his face, smoothly gliding over his nose and chin before plunging to the sink. Abruptly, he shook his head, water flying in all directions, and reached for a towel. After drying off his face and smoothing back his hair, he observed himself in the mirror. He gave his reflection that trademark sneer. "You look good," he said, "real good." He quickly eyed the bathtub, contemplating a refreshing shower. But upon remembering that Harry and Ron were waiting for their turns, and afraid that they may burst in on him, he decided it was best not to. He'd just do it in the morning.

With one last wink at the mirror, Draco headed into the bedroom. Being greeted only by the glares of Harry and Ron, he decided to go look for Ginny. Now refreshed, he was more than ready to make his move.

He stepped into the library and paused, his eyes scanning the room. It sure was big. And even though many of the shelves were toppled over, enough remained standing to make it impossible to see the entire space. Draco started making his way around the library, his senses alert for any sign of the girl. Finally he stopped, hearing soft, feminine breathing on the other side of the shelf. The books were too thick to see through, but the breaths were unmistakable- quiet and quick, as if she were concentrating. Probably reading another book. He would just have to provide her with something more entertaining to do.

"So," he began as he rounded the corner, "anything good to read in this cursed place?" He stopped short when he saw that it was not Ginny, but Hermione. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking up at him quizzically. Not wanting to appear a fool, Draco pretended like he knew it was Hermione he had addressed. "Well, answer me, Mudblood," he said as he looked down at her, "what are you reading?"

She paused, as if contemplating whether or not to answer. Her eyes showed not fear, but wariness. Finally she spoke. "I'm researching wandless magic," she said simply.

Draco narrowed his eyes. He had heard rumors of such a thing before, but it was not a concept he would expect someone like Hermione to buy into. It was more the stuff wizard tabloids were made of. "Does such a thing even exist?" he asked dubiously.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Hermione said. "Performing a spell without a wand is very rare, but it has happened before. This, of course, does not include accidental magic, like when you feel a surge of emotion like anger and something unexpected happens. That happens to all of us. What wandless magic entails is the witch or wizard stretching out his or her arm, saying a spell, and something happens- just as if they had a wand. The experts are divided as to if it only happens with certain people, or if it's achievable for all. For our sake, I'm hoping for the latter."

"Wandless magic..." Draco mused. It sounded believable enough. This could just be his ticket out of here. He smiled at the prospect, forgetting to be nasty. "That's amazing."

Hermione hesitantly returned his smile, "Of course most of the research is speculation, but if it's possible, it truly is amazing."

Draco was really interested; and even if she was a mudblood, he could not deny that Hermione knew her magic. If there was a way to do it without a wand, she'd find it. He hunched down on his legs so he was even with her. "So, what's the last recorded..."

"Step away, Malfoy." Draco turned his head to see Ron glaring at him. Harry was right behind him. "Just leave her alone, all right?"

Draco scowled. For once, he wasn't actually doing anything wrong. But then again, it was probably better that they didn't know he was actually being nice her. He stood back up, meeting Ron's glare evenly. Without a word, he left to search for the other Gryffindor.

Hermione returned to her research, but she couldn't focus. That last encounter had been so odd. Draco Malfoy had acted almost human. She glanced at Harry and Ron, who were leaning against the shelf and talking. It was astounding; he talked to her like he would talk to a friend. Maybe he was only mean when there were people around to see him. As a Malfoy, he sure had a lot of pressure to live up to the name. Perhaps deep down, he really was a good person.

Hermione let out a quiet, cynical laugh. Yeah right. When people are confined to a relatively small area with the same people for an extended period of time, they were bound to act strange. She had learned about it in a muggle sociology class she had taken at a community college over summer holiday. Draco was probably starving for company, and would settle for anyone. The minute they were out of the library, he would return to being his spiteful self. But in the meantime, other qualities were bound to emerge in not only Draco, but also the rest of them, and Hermione wasn't especially eager to see what sort of things came out in the others, or even herself.

Ron glanced at Hermione, wondering what was so funny. Probably something in that book. "I'm bored," he said dully.

"This has to be the fiftieth time you've said that in the past five minutes." Harry frowned as he pushed up his glasses.

Ron nodded. "Exactly. Don't you feel the same?"

"Yeah, I guess. There really isn't much to do in here except read and talk. And Hermione is the only one who thinks reading is fun."

"And," added Ron, "talking gets boring too. Especially when it's only you and Hermione to talk to. We've been friends for so long, it's like there's not much left to talk about."

"I for one am sick of talking," declared Harry. The boys looked at each other sat in silence for about a minute.

"Look at her," Ron pointed at Hermione. "She doesn't even realize that an outside world exists. She is totally consumed in that bloody book."

Harry stared at Hermione. Her hair was wilder and longer than ever, and it fell in untamed waves across her face and down her back. She was constantly shoving it away from her eyes, which focused intensely on the book, barely blinking. Best of all, she had the endearing habit of bringing her finger to her mouth to lick before turning the page. Looking at her, an idea crossed Harry's mind. He smile mischievously. "Well, then let's interrupt her."

Ron lowered his voice and leaned towards Harry, interested. "What should we do? I'm sure we could rig up some sort of great prank."

"Not a prank," answered Harry, "a challenge."

Ron blinked. "Challenge?"

"Yeah, like a competition." Harry's grin grew wider as he anticipated Ron's reaction to his next statement. "Whoever kisses her first- romantically- wins."

Ron's face twisted. "But she's Hermione!" he said simply, as if the simple statement was obvious, and sufficed to explain his disgust.

Harry shrugged. "It's all in fun. I normally wouldn't do anything of the sort. But we don't have much choice. Unless you have a better suggestion of how to waste time."

"Well..." Ron still hesitated.

Harry increased the pressure, "Or unless you think you can't win."

"No, no," Ron quickly shook his head. "It's not that, at all. It's just..."

"Oh c'mon," pressured Harry. "It's not like I'm asking you to do it to Ginny. But, hey, that's an idea."

Ron's face twisted even more. "No way! Let's stick to Hermione."

"So you're game."

"Of course!" Maybe he would finally be able to beat Harry at something. "What are the rules?"

Harry thought for a minute. "Only one rule: she has to initiate the kiss. It wouldn't be fair if we just took her by surprise. Other than that, anything goes." He extended his hand. "Do you accept the challenge?"

Ron grinned, and reached for Harry's hand, shaking it rapidly. "You're going down, Potter."

Wandering once more around the library, Draco reached the area he immediately recognized as the Restricted Section, and again heard breathing. But this time he checked before he spoke. There was no mistaking the red hair- this was Ginny. She was lying on her stomach in the middle of a clearing, legs kicking casually in the air. She was twirling her hair like before, and he was thankful that she wasn't scrunching her nose again.

Draco decided against talking right away, instead he quietly approached her. He took the opportunity to slowly size her up and down. Finally, his eyes zeroed in on the cover of the book she was reading. "101 Uses..." he couldn't help but laugh out loud as he read the title. Ginny's eyes abruptly snapped up to his and she immediately dropped the book. Draco swooped down and grabbed it before she had a chance to regain her composure.

Ginny scrambled to her feet, but did not speak. She watched in utter embarrassment as Draco opened the book to a random page. He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head as he scanned the page. "Wow, it's even illustrated. I'm impressed." His eyes once again focused on hers. He relished how her whole body grew stiff under his stare. "Nice reading selection, Weasley," he commented.

Ginny turned bright red and grabbed for the book, but he pulled it away. With a sigh, she attempted to explain herself. "No, it's not like that. I was just..." his eyebrow raised higher as she fumbled for an excuse. "...bored."

Draco grinned: perfect opportunity. He turned the book around, displaying the page to her. "Bored, eh? Wanna try?" She let out an indignant gasp, reached her hand behind her back and threw the first thing she could grab. The book hit him square in the stomach. He flinched, but resisted the urge to double over in pain. Okay, if she resorted to physical violence, this was going to be more of a challenge than he originally thought. "Calm down, Weasley, it was a joke." He once again eyed her sleazily, "besides, we don't have any wands, remember?"

Ginny regarded him. He was being gross, but talking to him was better than reading a boring book- or a vile one. She put her hands on her hips. "I wasn't really reading it. I guess I was just interested when I read the title."

He sneered again. "Whatever you say, Weaselette."

She glared. "I have a name you know."

Looking at her, his smile faded a bit. Now she wanted to be buddy-buddy with him? She was a confusing girl indeed. Oh well, he would just go with it. "Okay," he said, "_Ginny_." At hearing how he said her name, unexpected shivers ran up and down Ginny's back. She let out a small involuntary gasp.

_Perfect_, Draco thought, _it worked_. He slowly stepped forward. Seeing his advance, Ginny's eyes widened and she took a step back, right into the bookshelf. There was nowhere to go. She desperately searched for an escape route but could find none. She couldn't find her voice, either, otherwise she would have told him off. Instead she was rendered helpless, leaning against the shelf because her own legs gave no support. Draco grinned and stepped even closer. He leaned forward and she shut her eyes in fear, bracing herself for what was to come.

Ginny suddenly felt a hand grab her own, and sensed herself being dragged away. Opening her eyes, she saw that the hand belonged to Hermione. "You won't mind if I borrow Ginny for a moment, do you Draco?" she called over her shoulder. Draco just stood there, astounded, and watched the mudblood pull the redhead into the bedroom. He turned to see Harry and Ron running towards them, like they had been chasing Hermione. What was going on?

Hermione slammed the door, quickly tuned the lock, and sank to the ground, panting. Ginny stared at her. "Thanks for saving me Hermione," she said, sitting down on the bed.

Having caught her breath, Hermione stood up and took a seat next to Ginny. She lowered her voice. "What in Merlin's name has gotten into your brother?"

Harry and Ron stood on either side of the bookcase that was the entrance to the bedroom. They stared at each other, competition burning in their eyes as they hunched over, as if ready to pounce on the first thing to come out of the door.

Draco stood back, watching them with an amused smile. He now understood perfectly what was going on: they had taken up a little challenge of their own. And it sure was entertaining to see his archenemies' mode of seduction was comparable to Aurors chasing down a Deatheater. No wonder Hermione had been running so fast. He wondered when the girls were going to come back out again. Maybe never, if the mudblood was smart.

But his interest in Ginny had grown since their last encounter, and he wanted to make another move...now! Patience, he told himself, is the key to seduction. Maybe he should give these two goons a piece of advice- Harry and Ron continued to grin like idiots as they waited for Hermione to come out. Then again, maybe not. At least watching them provided him with some diversion. Shaking his head, Draco walked slowly back to the restricted section and picked up the book. The title once again brought a smile to his face, and he slyly slipped it into his pocket.


	4. The Morning After

Chapter Four: The Morning After

After a few minutes of discussing their respective boy problems, Ginny hopped off the bed. "I'm so hungry. Let's go get that food bag." She stepped towards the door and moved to unlock it.

"Excuse me?" Hermione looked at Ginny, dumbfounded. "Have you been listening to a word I'm saying? We're going through a slight disaster here, and all you can think about is food!"

"Yeah, you're right. It would be hard to get that bag without the guys seeing us. The last thing I feel like is dealing with them." Ginny sighed sat back down, patting her stomach sympathetically.

Hermione shook her head. "At least we're on the same page about that. But seriously," she leaned back on her elbows, "they were acting so strange. They're never like that, not with anyone."

Ginny laughed. "It would have been great to see!" A pillow flew at her head.

"Not any more entertaining than Malfoy trapping you against a bookcase, I'm sure," Hermione shot back with a grin on her face. But the grin was quickly replaced with a more serious look. "And it's only bound to get worse, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, sociological research shows that under extreme circumstance, people display character traits not that are not in their typical demeanor."

Ginny thought hard. "So you think that the guys are acting odd because we're stuck in here?"

Hermione nodded. "Exactly. Sides of them that we never knew are coming out. For example, under no circumstances would you ever expect Draco Malfoy to be interested in you remotely, let alone throw himself at you- am I correct?" Ginny nodded. "To add to that, Draco was acting nice to me earlier. But that doesn't mean that he really does have a thing for you, or that he really does want me as a friend..."

"...he's just acting that way under these conditions." Ginny finished the sentence. "And that would explain Harry and Ron's behavior, too."

"And now the only problem is to figure out how to get them to stop!" Hermione exclaimed. "And I don't have time to dive into sociological case studies while I'm researching a way to get out of here!"

"Hey, I can help research too!" said Ginny. "But we're going to have to face the guys sooner or later, there's no point in putting it off. We can't hide in here forever; we have to share the bathroom. Plus, I'm starving!"

"Fine," said Hermione, resigned. "Let's go." The girls hooked arms, took a unified deep breath, and walked towards the door.

Harry was tired of waiting by the door. He sighed and walked in the opposite direction. "Giving up already?" taunted Ron.

"No, just taking a different approach. You saw how the poor girl ran. So when she hides from your unsightly advances, I'll be there to comfort her." Harry picked up the red velvet bag and reached in.

Ron looked thoughtful as he recklessly ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Ahh, I see what you're doing- being a friend. Not a bad idea, Potter." He also abandoned his post and walked after Harry.

"Stealing my technique now? Not clever enough to come up with one on your own?" Harry's green eyes sparkled. This was much better than sitting around reading.

"You two have no clue," Draco's distinctive drawl came from behind them. "All you're going to do is scare her away, even if you try to back off a bit."

"What, do you want in on the challenge, too?" asked Ron.

"Dream on Weasley, I wouldn't bring myself down to that level." He snatched the bag from Ron. "I've got better things to do."

"And what would these be?" asked Ron, taking the bag back. But Draco didn't answer. Instead, all three boys turned as the bookcase swung open and the girls walked out. They looked like they were walking into a battlefield- clinging onto each other and hunching down like something would jump on them. When they saw that no one was planning on attacking them, they gave each other a glance and then a quick nod.

Breaking their arms apart, Hermione disappeared into the bedroom and promptly came out with a pile of blankets. She shoved them into Draco's arms. "We're going to bed," she announced, averting her eyes from the other two boys. "We'll leave the door unlocked in case anyone needs to use the lavatory, but if you try anything else we will lock it and you'll just have to find a corner or something."

Ginny walked over to her brother, stuck both hands into the bag he was holding, and pulled out two handfuls. "So, if there's nothing else, we'll see you in the morning." With that, the girls were gone, slamming the bookcase behind them.

Draco grinned. "You really showed her, Potter. It's a wonder she can keep her hands off you." He dropped half the pile on the floor and started walking away. "I'm going to the east wall where no books are on the ground. Please don't attempt to sleep where we can see or hear each other, I prefer my privacy." With that, he was off to perfect his schemes for the next day. _I will not fail again_, he insisted to himself.

Ginny stretched and turned over. She had slept wonderfully- the bed was so comfortable and she hadn't given a thought to the men problems Hermione and herself would have to face. She turned on her back and stared into space. It was sure a funny feeling, having Draco Malfoy make a pass at her. It had been a frightening experience, yet at the same time it was somehow...exhilarating.

She felt Hermione stir beside her. "You awake, 'Mione?" she called.

"Yeah," came the sleepy reply. "I don't want to get out of bed."

"I know, I'd give anything to avoid those three," replied Ginny, "but we have work to do."

"Yeah, I know." Hermione sighed. "Besides, seems like they're up already. At least one of them is." The shower in the adjacent bathroom was running.

"I hope he hurries up," muttered Ginny. "A shower sounds so refreshing right now."

"Well until he's done," said Hermione, sitting up, "let's talk. We need a game plan for the day."

Ginny also sat. "Okay, but there's not much to talk about. You need to research wandless magic, and I need to look up social interactions in confined areas. We'll work together, so there's no chance that I'll get stuck alone with Draco or you with Harry or Ron."

"Yeah, I guess that's it," said Hermione. She stood and stretched. "A shower does sound good, but I've been in these clothes for more than twenty four hours now, and I slept in them. Even if I clean my body, I'll have to put them back on."

"Well, let's see what madam librarian has to offer," Ginny jumped off the bed and walked over to the wardrobe.

"Wait," said Hermione, "we should respect her privacy."

"Hermione," Ginny whined, "We could be stuck in here for a long time. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on wearing this the whole time." She pointed to her rumpled uniform.

"I guess," said Hermione uncertainly. Ginny proceeded to open the wardrobe and the girls peered anxiously inside.

Ginny giggled. "I guess I shouldn't expect much more from Madame Pince." The wardrobe was full of antiquated dresses, each one floor length with high lacy collars and long puffy sleeves. "She always dresses so conservatively. But imagine one of us in these outfits- not a bit of skin would show, save our faces!" She started pulling out dress after dress, searching for something suitable.

"Well," began Hermione, "that's more of a good thing than a bad thing, especially with how those guys have been acting!" The girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. The waves of laughter came on strong, as they were laughing at everything—the boys, the dresses, the situation in general.

The two were so overcome with their giggles that they didn't even notice when Draco came out of the bathroom- wearing nothing but a towel. He placed his hands on his hips and stood watching the girls as they laughed until they fell on the floor, and started throwing the hideous dresses at each other.

"My oh my, don't you make the happy couple," his mocking voice finally interrupted their giggles. They stopped laughing immediately and turned their heads to see who had addressed them. Hermione gasped and buried her face in a particularly ugly olive green colored gown. Ginny, on the other hand, flushed- not with embarrassment, but with anger. She abruptly stood.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Malfoy?" she shrieked. "For the love of everything holy- put on your clothes!"

He sneered and leaned against the wall. "I would, but I can't." He glanced over Ginny's disheveled hair and wrinkled clothing, and found himself very attracted to her just-woke-up look.

"What do you mean you can't?" snapped Ginny. "I think you're perfectly capable of dressing yourself. And if for any reason you're not, then I'm sure Harry or Ron will be more than willing to lend a hand."

"Don't get your knickers in a bunch, Weasley," Draco said, stepping back into the bathroom. He came out with an armful of wet clothing. "My uniform was getting a bit dirty, so I washed it. And since we don't have our wands, I can't very well put a drying spell on it, can I? So until then, it looks like I'll just have to wear nothing but this towel. Not that you'd mind, Miss Ginny, you haven't taken your eyes off me."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself, Malfoy." She suddenly grinned deviously. Grabbing the dress that Hermione was trying to hide herself in, Ginny threw it over to Draco. "Here, wear this. It can be nothing but an improvement." Both girls burst out laughing once more.

Draco looked horrified. "You have to be kidding."

Hermione cleared her throat and finally spoke up. "Well, looking at things logically, you're going to have to wear something. Ginny and I are going to be getting ready and dressed, so you can't stay in here until your clothes are dry. And for some reason I don't think you'd want to hang out with the other boys wearing nothing but a towel. But then again, I could be wrong." She smiled.

His horrification grew. "You're right, Granger." At hearing him refer to her by anything but "Mudblood," Hermione smiled, but she didn't say anything. Draco continued. "But there's no way I'm going to wear a dress around them either." He held up the atrocity Ginny had flung at him. "Besides, this shade of green is awful with my complexion."

Ginny let out a genuine laugh at his joke, but quickly tried to cover it up, acting angry again. "Well, you'll have to do something, Malfoy. Hermione and I will leave the room now, and we'll come back in five minutes later. By that time, you'd better have some clothes on your body, or else." The girls turned and left, and Draco frowned, assessing his options.

"Honestly," said Ginny, "I don't know why he can't just wear his wet clothes. It's not that big of a deal."

Hermione shushed her. "Keep your voice down! Harry and Ron are probably still sleeping, and we don't want to wake them just so they can bother us."

Ginny turned and looked at her. "I think that you just don't want them to see you like this- barely awake, hair a mess, clothes wrinkled, eyes puffy."

"You very well know that I don't care what they think," huffed Hermione, "especially when it comes to appearance."

"Sure," taunted Ginny, "say what you want, but I know the truth. I think you really like all this attention you're getting."

Hermione looked like she had just been accused of carrying on an affair with Hagrid. "Ginny! I can't believe you're even insinuating that!"

Ginny laughed. "Relax, I'm just kidding. But I really want to get in the shower. Has it been five minutes yet?"

"I don't think so, but let's go in anyway."

"We should knock first. I don't want to see Malfoy in the buff."

Hermione grinned, "Oh, I think you really do." Ginny's jaw dropped and Hermione laughed. "I'm just giving you a dose of your own medicine."

Sticking her tongue out at Hermione, Ginny knocked on the door. "Malfoy, you better be decent, because we're coming in." When no reply came, she turned to Hermione and shrugged. They pulled the key book from the shelf and the hidden door swung open. On the bed sat Draco Malfoy, looking very unhappy and wearing—

"A toga!" Ginny screeched, laughing hysterically. Draco had slung the bed sheet around his body. He stood up and glared at the giggling girls.

"Oh I wish I had a camera!" said Hermione. Draco glared even deeper, if it was possible

"I didn't have much choice, you know."

Ginny slowly walked in a circle around him, "How is this better than a dress, anyway?" she asked between spurts of laughter.

"It just is," growled Draco. This could severely hamper his seduction attempts. "Now I'll leave you ladies to your ridicule." He walked out of the room, slamming the bookcase behind them. The girls looked at the door, then looked at each other, laughing even more.

Fifteen minutes later, Ginny sat cross-legged on the bed and leaned over, rubbing a towel furiously on her head yet another time. All her life she had used magic to take care of her hair, and never realized how long it would take to dry by itself. She was wearing the least repulsive of the dresses, which wasn't saying much! It was plain dark blue in color, and wouldn't have been too bad at all if it weren't about five times too big. The bottom drug at least three inches on the floor, and she had to push the arms of the dress up to even see her hands. She sighed, tugging at sleeves for what seemed like the hundredth time. Hearing the door to the bathroom open, she turned to see Hermione come out. Her dress wasn't much better- it was dull gray in color, and had a yellowed lace at the hem and bottom of the sleeves. Ginny smiled. "I would laugh at that outfit, but I know that I look just as horrendous."

Hermione returned the smile. "Yeah, but keep telling yourself that it's better this way."

"Yeah, I guess," said Ginny, "but I sure wish we had magic. My hair is really annoying me."

Hermione took the towel, and started rubbing it against her friend's head. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Mine is really thick too, and when I grew up I didn't have any magic. I always just put it in braids. I could try that on your hair, too."

Ginny smiled. "Okay, anything to get this wet mass off my neck!"

As Harry groggily woke up, the first thing he saw was Ron staring at something on the other side of the room. He reached for his glasses and sat up, wondering what his friend was gawking at. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.

Ron rubbed his eyes. "I think I'm still asleep."

Harry laughed and stood. "No, Ron, you're very much awake. We're isolated in the library with your sister, Hermione, and Malfoy, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Ron, "but I have to be dreaming." Harry continued to look confused, and Ron reached out his arm and pointed. "Look for yourself." Harry's eyes followed Ron's outstretched index finger until they reached a figure that was sitting at a table reading a book. Harry's jaw dropped. "I told you," said Ron.

"You're right. This has to be a dream!" Harry continued to stare.

Draco tried to focus on his book, but he couldn't with those two idiots gaping at him. He abruptly hopped to his feet, slammed down the book, and faced Harry and Ron. "Do you two have a problem, or have you decided to switch the object of your challenge from Hermione to me? Because if it's the latter, don't even try."

"Malfoy," Ron's voice lost its shock, and now he was trying to contain a laugh. "Are you wearing...a bed sheet?"

If Draco Malfoy were the type to blush, he would be bright red at this moment. But he prided himself in not revealing his true feelings, so he instead shot a deadly glare at the two. "At least I have some sense of cleanliness. If you two prats want to stay in the same clothes for days on end, then go for it."

The comment seemed to bring Harry and Ron back to reality. They weren't dreaming, and they weren't exactly smelling nice, either. "I get next shower!" cried Ron.

"Not if I can get there first!" Harry ran to the bookcase and tried to open it. It was locked.

"They girls are using the bathroom right now," said Draco, who had lost interest in his book. "Be patient, if you two are pushy then she'll never go for either of you. Not that I can blame her."

Ron shook his head. "I never take advice from a guy in a toga. It's a rule of mine." Harry laughed.

Draco regarded them curiously. "You two seriously have no idea how to approach this, do you?" Blank looks. _Of course they're blank_, thought Draco. He was willing to bet his family fortune that neither boy had even been kissed before. "I don't like you. You're not my friends. And I know that you don't like me, and it's better that way." A sly smile spread on his face. "But I can supply you with a wealth of knowledge on the art of seduction. I can teach you things these books could never even approach. I may be young, but I have years of experience and you two have to admit that I could get any girl in the school if I wanted to."

"Not Hermione," said Harry quickly.

Draco paused, thinking. His mind drew a blank- he really didn't know how she would respond to him. But he had to pace himself, and at the time being all his energy would be focused on Ginny. He sneered in reply. "I said any girl if I wanted to. And I don't want that mudblood. But this is beyond the point. You guys know that I can help you. And I know that you want my help...and I'm willing to provide it."

"What's the catch?" asked Ron warily.

"Who says there's a catch?" asked Draco with a funny smile.

"There's always a catch with you, toga boy," Ron snapped right back.

"Okay, fine. There's one requirement. A quid-pro-quo if you will. But I wouldn't call it a catch."

"Spill it," said Harry.

"So you're asking me for help in polishing your skills with the fairer sex?" Draco's eyebrow rose. Ron grabbed Harry and pulled him aside out of Draco's earshot.

"I don't like this, Harry. He's Draco Malfoy. We can't trust him."

"I don't know about you," replied Harry, "but I want to win our competition. And I know that I can't on my own abilities. I have no experience with women! Well, except that fiasco with Cho last year, but that just goes to prove my point- look how it turned out! Besides, we both know that Malfoy could teach us."

"But still..." said Ron warily.

"Fine, you don't have to," said Harry, walking back towards Draco. "But then you'll be at even more of a disadvantage.

Ron followed him. "Okay, Malfoy," he said. "We accept your offer."

Draco grinned bigger and more sinister than either had seen him grin before. "Very good. You two are smarter than I thought."

"So where do we begin?" asked Harry, sitting at a table. Ron followed him.

"Slow down, Potter," Draco sat across from Harry and Ron. "Remember the quid-pro-quo? I can teach you all you want to know about how to win a girl and more, I can have that little mudblood hanging on your every word, at your very disposal. But it will cost you." He leaned forward. "And there's something I want."


	5. The Art of Seduction

Chapter Five- The Art of Seduction

"NO WAY IN HELL!" Ron stood up, his eyes throwing daggers at Draco. "Ginny is my sister you git! There's no way in hell I would ever help you in trying to seduce her." He shuddered before continuing. "What has gotten into you anyway Malfoy? How could you even think of trying to take advantage of her? She's not your type! She's a Weasley! W-E-A-S-L-Y."

"You forgot the second 'E,'" Harry muttered. Ron glared at him briefly before refocusing his wrath on Draco.

"However you spell it, you hate our family. Now I don't know why you'd be interested in her Malfoy..."

Draco raised his eyebrows and his thin lips curled into a devilish smirk. "Have you taken a look at her lately, Weasel? She's sure, err, 'matured.'"

Ignoring the comment, Ron continued his rant. "...but you stay away from her! We don't need your help, especially not at that price!"

Suddenly, two figures streaked past them in a flow of hideous skirts. The girls had emerged from their room, and were holding hands as they ran to the other side of the library. Ron frowned. "You have her almost as scared as Harry and I have Hermione! We don't want your crummy advice." He walked into the room and slammed the door. Harry and Draco continued to sit motionless, neither saying a word. Soon they heard the stream of the shower.

Harry finally broke the silence. "So, Malfoy, what do you want to know?"

Draco's eyes narrowed. "You're willing to sell out your best friends little sister? Potter, I'm impressed!"

Harry scoffed. "If you hadn't noticed, Ginny and I are not on the best of terms."

"Yeah, what's that all about?" Draco asked as he casually leaned back in his chair.

"I'm not here to pour my heart out to you, Malfoy. I'm here on purely business. I know everything about Ginny, more than I want to know, most likely even more than Ron knows. And I'm willing to exchange that information for some tips." He outstretched his hand. "So what do you say?"

"I never thought it would come to this, Potter," Draco grinned as he grabbed and shook Harry's hand. "But you have a deal."

Elsewhere in the library, Hermione and Ginny had finally stopped running, and were hiding behind one of the bookcases, panting. "Is it clear?" asked Ginny.

Hermione peered out into the room. "Ron's gone into the bathroom, and Draco and Harry are...shaking hands?"

Ginny slowly shook her head. "This is getting bad. There is sure something fishy going on here." Hermione nodded as she surveyed the library.

"Yeah, so let's get going. The sociology section used to be somewhere over there," she pointed to one end of the library, "but now is probably somewhere around here," she pointed to the opposite end. "So before you can start the research, you have to actually find the books."

"Plus," said Ginny, "you have to get going on your research, too. Remember- a way out of here? That should really be our first priority."

"I couldn't agree more. But to research wandless magic, I have to go over in that corner," Ginny's eyes followed her outstretched hand to an area that was as far away as possible from her section. "So that means that we have to split up. Are you going to be okay with that?"

Ginny took a deep breath, hiked up her skirts, and enthusiastically nodded her head, flinging her braids behind her neck. "Bring it on, I can take it!"

Glancing at where Harry and Draco conspired, Hermione smiled. "You may not need to worry about it, actually. It seems like they've cooled down a bit." 

"Hermione," Ginny placed her hands on her friend's shoulders, "they're men. They'll never cool down."

"First of all, Potter, you need to work on your image."

Harry laughed. "Image? Do I need remind you that you're wearing a toga?"

Draco shook his head. "I have the body of a sex god, Potter, I can pull it off. You, on the other hand," he observed Harry.

The feeling that he had just made a deal with the devil grew inside Harry, and Draco's scrutiny made him even more uncomfortable. "Stop that, Malfoy. I wanted advice, not a makeover."

"Fair enough, you're hopeless on looks anyway," Draco vainly ran a hand through his silvery hair before continuing. "Okay, so tell me what, if anything, you have planned."

Harry thought for a moment. "Well, the bet is that I have to try to get her to kiss me. So I planned on making a few advances, getting her interested, and eventually forcing her to make the next move."

A pale eyebrow shot up on Draco's forehead. "It all sounds good, but how do you exactly plan on getting her interested?"

"That's what I came to you for, you bloody git!" Harry's dark hair fell into his eyes as he glared at Draco. He hurriedly pushed it back. "You're supposed to be giving me advice here!"

"Okay, okay," Draco leaned back in his chair and Harry adverted his eyes, lest the bed sheet spread apart and he learn a little more about Malfoy than he wished. "Well, you have to completely change your technique. First, apologize."

"Apologize?" asked Harry, "for what?"

"For attacking her of course! Apologize for making her uncomfortable, say that you're calling the bet off, and try to befriend her. Become interested in what she's doing, in the books she's reading- because Merlin knows she'll be reading- and make her once again feel comfortable in your presence."

Harry furrowed his brows and frowned. "But I don't want to call off the bet! I want to win!"

"Did I tell you to call off the bet? No! I simply told you to say that you were going to." Draco grinned as Harry's green eyes widened in realization.

"You know, Malfoy, that just may work, for starters at least. I think I'm going to try it out right now, but I'll come back for more advice if I need it." He stood, straightened his robes, and started to walk towards the corner in which Hermione was absorbed in a book entitled "Wandless Magic: Myth or Miracle?".

"Not so fast, Potter." Harry turned around to see Draco looking at him intently, his bare arms folded across his chest. "Quid pro quo."

"Oh, right," Harry once again took a seat and leaned over the table. "So, what do you want to know?"

Draco also leaned in, "What do you got?"

Harry thought for a moment before a devilish grin spread over his face. "Ginny Weasley- tough girl, won't take crap for anyone, very closed ever since the Chamber of Secrets fiasco, has had many boyfriends but few commitments. And her and I...let's just say that something happened between us that makes her despise men-especially me-more than ever. There's no way to get her to lighten up."

Draco frowned. "And this is supposed to help me how?"

The grin on Harry's face grew wider. "I'm getting there. Ginny's a callous girl, but there's one thing that will get to her, one thing that will cause her to totally let down all her defenses." He lowered his voice and commenced to explain the weaknesses of his best friend's sister to his worst enemy.

"Most wizards today contend that wandless magic is just a myth, but there is no solid evidence on either side. This is precisely what leads to its label as folklore: there is no empirical proof that wandless magic has ever been accomplished, only the testimonies of wizards."

Hermione sighed and set down the book. Now that wasn't encouraging at all. She looked around the library, over to Draco and Harry, who were still sitting across from each other, engrossed in conversation. She frowned. They had been enemies since their first year, and she couldn't understand how the circumstances- no matter how extreme- could force them to be cordial to each other. After a couple more minutes, they shook hands once more and stood. Draco walked off towards the sociology section, but Hermione was more worried with Harry's actions. He stretched, smoothed his hair, puffed out his chest, and started to head right towards her. Hermione ducked behind a bookcase and peered out, watching Harry advance. This wasn't good. He proceeded to get closer...closer...until he was within just a few feet of her. Hermione considered running to the other side of the library, but that would just make her look ridiculous. There was nowhere in this wretched place to hide. Harry stopped, grinned, and opened his mouth to speak. Much to Hermione's relief, he was interrupted before he even got a chance.

"Harry, your turn!" Ron- his face freshly scrubbed and his clothes hanging loosely on his body- stepped out of the bedroom. Harry turned to look at him, and then walked away without another glance at Hermione. She sighed in relief as he said a few words to Ron and then disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Ron looked at her, and for a minute Hermione was afraid that he would try to come over and talk. But he instead focused his attention on the bright red bag, rubbing his stomach as he took a seat. Hermione sat down, picked up the book, and continued to read, making sure to watch Ron out of the corner of her eye.

Ginny cursed to herself as she picked her way through what was supposed to be the sociology section. All the books were sprawled over the floor, not a single bookcase in the area left standing. "Just my luck, the one section I need is the one that's completely destroyed." Kneeling, she started to sort through the books, deeming it impossible to find any that pertained to personality traits in closed environments. Book after book was flung away and she was getting more frustrated by the minute. Suddenly, a different book was lowered in front of her face. It was strangely familiar, black with bright gold lettering that read, "101 Uses for your Wand..." Ginny shrieked at recognizing the title. She followed the book to the long, bare (and beautifully toned, she noted) arm up to the sheet-draped body that was bending over her, and finally the pale face, complete with devious smirk.

"So," Draco said as he kneeled next to Ginny and paged through the book, "wanna try? There's some interesting stuff in here."

Ginny scowled. "That's disgusting Malfoy. Believe me, if I had a wand, _that_," she pointed to the page Draco was opened to, "would be the last thing I'd do."

Draco looked keenly at the page, which just so happened to be illustrated. "Yeah, you're right, it does look a bit painful. I'll find a better one."

With another shriek, Ginny stood. Well, she at least tried to stand. The dress she was wearing was too large, and she tripped on the skirts. With a gasp, she braced herself for the fall...but it never came. Vaguely aware of her face being pressed against a white sheet, she opened her eyes. Her head was buried in Draco's chest, her hands braced against each of his arms, which were snaked around her waist. "Malfoy!" she screamed, pushing away, "get off me!"

Draco stepped back and observed her. Amusement danced in his icy eyes. "If my memory serves me, it was you who fell into me. I didn't take you to be the swooning type."

Without a word, Ginny gathered the layers of skirts in her hands and started to march away. But the dress prohibited her from moving fast, and before she knew it Draco had stepped in her path. "You know, Weaselette, that dress really has to go. It just doesn't suit you." His hands wandered from the too-long sleeves to the high neck. He leaned closer and spoke softly. "There's another sheet, you know. I could teach you how to make a toga if you'd like." His fingers brushed the thin line of skin exposed above the collar. Ginny froze, unable to decide if she should gasp in indignation at his insinuation or laugh at the absurdity of the pickup line. Unable to decide, she determined to simply push him away.

"Not on your life, Malfoy."

"C'mon, there's nothing else to do." He stepped closer once more, cupping her face in his hands and forcing her to look at him. She scowled and looked like she was about to spit. "You give me no other choice, Weaselette," he said connivingly. He kept one hand forcibly holding her chin, and another ventured down to her waist. Draco frowned at the layers of cloth he found there, but determined that it should still work, if Harry's information proved to be correct.

"What the bloody hell do you think you are..." Ginny was cut off by a burst of laughter. Draco grinned- he had found his target. He once again ran the tips of his fingers against the small of her back, the exact point that Harry had told him Ginny was helplessly ticklish. And Potter wasn't kidding, either, Draco thought as her tense body relaxed and she leaned against him in a fit of laughter.

"Stop....Draco...don't...ahahaha!" Ginny gasped as she flung her arms around his neck to brace herself. Draco chuckled in amusement and stopped the motion. Ginny continued to smile, looking up at him and catching her breath. Before she could come to her senses, Draco leaned over and planted a firm kiss on her upturned lips.

Ginny didn't respond. But she didn't resist, either. Seeing this as a sign to go ahead, Draco tightened his grip and pressed his lips harder. Ginny's hands came up to his hair and she turned the strands around her fingers. Inwardly smirking, Draco congratulated himself on his victory. He let go of her chin, bringing the hand to join the other which was grasping her waist.

Suddenly, Ginny's grip tightened on his hair. He opened his eyes and looked into hers, which were staring with hatred. Before he could respond, she bit down on his lower lip, pulled his hair hard, and brought up her left knee. It found its mark- right between his legs. Groaning in pain, Draco released Ginny and she stepped away. She sneered as she observed him, doubled over in pain, a hint of blood forming on his lip, his perfect hair tousled and his scalp undoubtedly burning. She leaned over next to him, bringing her lips to her ear. "Never," she whispered through clenched teeth, "try that again." With that, Ginny stood, smoothed out her skirts, and performed a mocking curtsy before whisking away.

"While the rumors may not be substantiated with hard evidence, there are plenty of witness testimonies- so many to make it seem impossible that wandless magic is just a fairy tale. In fact, Sumedle VI, the famous wizard who defeated the rouge Nundu of 1577, claims to have used wandless magic on several occasions. See his memoirs for more information."

"Well, that's promising," Hermione said cheerfully as she set down the book. She had learned about Sumedle VI in History of Magic just a few weeks ago, and he was not only known or his great magical powers, but also for his ethical standards. He never hurt a creature unless to save the life of other wizards, he donated most of his fortune to charity, and he had a great reputation for being honest. Eager to find his memoirs, Hermione wondered where the History section was in the pile of rubble. She stood, but as soon as she looked up she found herself face to face with Harry Potter.

"Good morning, Hermione." For once, his jet-black hair was not sticking in every direction. Rather, it was plastered against his neck, still dripping with water. His face was bright and the distinctive smell of soap lingered in his body. He was wearing his pants and white shirt, his tie loosely hanging around his neck and his vest and cloak in hands. Hermione frowned to see that his shirt wasn't buttoned.

Harry noticed her scrutiny and started to button up his shirt. He smiled. "I was going to wash my clothes, but then I realized that I'd be stuck in a toga like Malfoy. So I guess I'm stuck with them." He eyed her. "By the way, nice dress."

Hermione blushed as she looked at the gray monstrosity on her body, but then scowled. "Harry, I have work to do." Before she could leave, Harry grabbed her hand.

"'Mione, wait." Hermione flung her body around, wrenching her hand from her grip. She scowled even deeper.

"Leave me alone, Harry. Just leave me alone."

Harry was genuinely hurt. This was one of his best friends, and she couldn't stand the touch of him. "Look," he began, lowering his eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry. I really am. It was a silly bet between me and Ron."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "A bet?"

Harry cursed himself as he realized that she didn't know about the bet. "It doesn't matter," he said quickly, "I called it off. I just came over here to apologize to you. I'm sorry, I really am." It wasn't all a lie. Harry was truly sorry that she had upset her so much. But there was no way he'd call off the bet. Not only would that make Ron win (a notion that Harry couldn't stand), but it would also once again render him bored beyond belief. He shot Hermione an innocent smile, and while her disapproving frown didn't go away, it softened a bit.

"Harry," Hermione began, but was lost for words. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He brought his eyes to hers, and she faintly smiled. "Don't worry about it. Just promise me to never try anything like that again!"

Harry grinned. Hermione took the grin as smiling at his past stupidity and agreeing with her statement. "I promise," he said, the grin growing larger. Hermione gave him a friendly nod and walked away, in search of Sumedle's memoirs. Harry stayed in his place, watching her walk away. "Watch yourself, Hermione," he muttered with a smile. "This is only the beginning."


	6. Depth

Chapter Six: Unexpected Depth

Harry strode proudly to the table where Ron was sitting and sat down. Feeling his stomach grumble, he grabbed the red bag. "What's up with you?" asked Ron between bites.

"Oh, nothing at all," Harry replied smartly. "Just that I've taken the upper hand in our little contest."

Ron swallowed. "Oh really?"

"Yup," Harry grinned. "You, my friend, have no chance." They turned to see Draco storming through the library. "Hey, Draco!" Harry called out cheerfully, "your advice worked like a charm, no way she's going to be able to resist me now. She even initiated contact! How'd it go with Ginny?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Draco growled, stepping into the bedroom and closing the door after him. Harry shrugged and started to reach into the bag, only to be whapped on the head by a freckled arm.

"You sold out Ginny? I can't believe you!" Ron stood, very upset. "You're supposed to be my friend."

"All's fair in love and war," replied Harry, "I just want to win the contest."

"Forget about the contest, this is my little sister here!"

Harry frowned. "We established long ago that I don't like Ginny, and you agreed to let me stew in my hate rather than constantly pester me about it. So this should be no surprise." He reached into the bag and pulled out a solid blue cube.

"Ginny!" Ron suddenly gasped, "I hope she's okay!" He ran across the library, in search of his sister.

Harry looked after him, shrugging once again. As he was lifting the cube to his mouth, Ginny herself rounded a corner, glancing at her brother. "Where's he off to?"

"Looking for you," muttered Harry shortly.

"Oh," Ginny took a seat next to Harry. He shot her a glare.

"Well, aren't you going to go after him?"

"I'm hungry." She reached into the bag and pulled out a red triangle. She looked from it to Harry's cube. "This thing must be faulty, it's only giving shapes now. We better tell Fred and George before it hits the market."

Harry rolled his eyes. "And how do you expect to do that?"

"I meant once we get out of here," Ginny stated with a frown. Neither said a word after that, they just glared at each other. Finally Ginny broke the staring contest and took a bite of the triangle. It was very refreshing, and tasted like a freshly picked pear.

Harry followed suit and bit into his cube. It was repulsive; the taste reminded him of the old socks that Uncle Dursley used to give to him as presents. "Yuck!" he stuck out his tongue and made a face. "That's disgusting."

Ginny smiled and looked at him, but said nothing. She took another bite of her triangle. "Mmmm," she said exaggeratedly. Harry glared at her and reached again into the bag.

"It's empty," he said, looking inside.

"No it's not, read the card."

Harry looked at it, reading out loud. "'The item pulled out must be eaten before the same hand can receive another flavor.' But that doesn't make any sense! The other night you took a handful!"

"Yeah, but it would only let us eat one thing at a time," Ginny replied. "I was eating something that was pretty gross, it tasted like liver, but when I tried to eat something else it tasted like liver too. Finally I finished the first item, and then the next one had a new flavor."

Harry frowned. "I don't like that." He looked from his cube to Ginny's triangle. "What does yours taste like?"

"My favorite, pear!" She smiled wickedly before taking another bite.

"Pear isn't your favorite, it's mine," shot Harry with a scowl. "Now give me that!"

Ginny held the triangle protectively. "No way!"

Harry leapt forward and grabbed it from Ginny's hand. With a grin of triumph he brought it to his lips. His triumph, however, quickly disappeared, as his mouth was once again filled with the sock flavor.

"I told you," said Ginny, snatching back her triangle. "It doesn't work that way, you just have to finish the nasty flavor to get a new one." She brought her eyes to his. "Besides, you deserve it."

"I deserve it?" spat Harry, "for what?"

"For selling me out to Draco," she responded. "There's no other way he would have known I was helplessly ticklish on my back, no chance that Ron would tell him."

Harry smirked at her. "You always were so squirmy about that, and just would not stop laughing. It makes you forget who you are, or how you try to portray yourself." For a short moment the hatred he had held onto for so long left Harry and he looked at Ginny, almost nostalgically. But soon enough his anger returned. "I only wish I was there to see you with him when he tried it, I bet it was hilarious!"

Ginny shook her head. "That's mean, Harry."

Harry snorted, "Sure, and you've been the model of niceness!"

They both fell silent, Ginny nibbled on her triangle and Harry set down his cube. Finally Ginny spoke, "Harry, maybe we should have a truce or something."

"A truce? With you? No way. You've already had your chance, Ginny, remember? Or do I need to refresh your memory?"

"Please don't," whispered Ginny, looking down. "Don't go over this again."

"This is all your fault, you know," shot Harry, vindictively. His eyes filled with emotion at the memory, and Ginny whipped up her face to meet his. 

"If you remember correctly, Harry Potter, I apologized. But your ego was too hurt to accept it."

"And if you'll remember correctly, Ginerva Weasley, it took you quite awhile before you could even face me, let alone muster up a fake apology. You know it's all your fault, and you can't just 'I'm sorry' it away."

"Fine," Ginny stood, "there's just no reasoning with you, is there? You're Harry-bloody-Potter, you always have to be right! Well, maybe this time you're not. You were rejected Harry, and I know that over the past six years you've grown accustomed to everyone doing your every bidding, but I just won't pretend to get along with you just because you managed to defeat some guy when you were a baby." She stared at him, tears filling her eyes. "Would it hurt you even a little to be sensitive to other people for once? You refused to understand what I was going through, so there was no chance for us from the beginning." Ginny slammed her fist on the table with frustration. "I can't believe I ever thought you were special. In my book, you're just another Tom Riddle." With that, she stormed off.

"Whoa, Potter," Draco Malfoy was leaning against the bedroom door, and apparently had heard the whole conversation. "You really pissed her off. Now how am I supposed to get anywhere?"

Harry sighed, "First of all, she was already upset with you, so that's your fault. Secondly, she's been mad at me all year. It's not something that just happened." He took another bite of the repulsive cube, mainly because there was nothing else he could do.

Draco reached into the bag, pulling out a solid yellow sphere. "Boy this thing is losing its originality. Let's hope it doesn't break completely." He took a bite and chewed for a bit before nodding his approval. "Anyway, back to the point at hand. What happened between the two of you?"

"None of your business." Harry finished the cube, eager to get another taste in his mouth.

"Perhaps not, but I want to know." Draco took another bite of the geometric shape that tasted like peanut butter. He smiled. Knowing their history may help Draco in his seduction escapades. Not only that, but he was also genuinely interested. He leaned forward. "Tell me the story and I'll give you more advice."

"I don't need advice, thank you very much," Harry had pulled a piece of food shaped like a puzzle piece out of the bag, and was examining it as he spoke. "I did what you told me and it worked perfectly."

"For now," said Draco, finally sitting down across from Harry. "But what are you going to do next?"

Harry thought for a minute as he took a bite of the puzzle piece. Dirt. It tasted like dirt. _This is just not my day_, he thought to himself as he flung the item across the room. "Fine, whatever, it doesn't matter." He scowled at Draco, who tapped his fingers earnestly.

Exhaling in frustration, Harry began his story. "As I'm sure you know, Ginny had a little thing for me awhile back." Draco snickered, but didn't say anything, so Harry continued. "Well that was for her first three years at Hogwarts. Last year something changed. She finally ditched her fancy for me, and with that barrier gone, the door was open for us to have a friendship." Harry sighed. "It was great to be friends with her, but our friendship was never deep or anything, even when we battled at the Department of Mysteries together we were no more than casual acquaintances."

Draco's eyes suddenly sparked. "Speaking of the Department of Mysteries, what exactly went on there? I've only ever heard bits and pieces."

Harry looked at him, annoyed. "Do you want to know about Ginny and me or not? Because there's no way in hell that I'm revealing anything that happened in that place to you." Draco simply waved his hand, so Harry proceeded. "This past summer I spent a month at..." he looked suspiciously at Draco, "...at, ummm, a sort of hang out I guess. For the good guys. You know, I can't tell you any more specifics about that, because you are kind of the son of the enemy."

Draco's eyes narrowed and he gave a short nod, still not speaking. "So anyway the Weasley family had moved in at that place, because the Burrow-their home-is unsafe. It has actually been invaded three times in the past month. The Weasleys are pretty wanted in the Death Eater realm."

Draco rolled his eyes. Like he didn't know. "About Ginny?"

"I'm getting there," scowled Harry, "so I spent a month in this place with the Weasleys, among others. And I got so close to Ginny in those days. There really wasn't much to do in the house, so we talked all day long. I've known Ron and Hermione for so long that conversing with them has lost its appeal. But with Ginny it was different. It was new and exciting...and we had a different kind of bond than I have ever had with anyone. She and I shared something: we had both faced Voldemort. We both knew what it was to see him, to talk to him, to be controlled by him. Every word she said to me was unique, deep, special. I started to feel differently about her, and soon became convinced that she needed to know about these feelings."

Draco laughed loudly. "And we all know how smooth you are with those type of things, Potter."

Harry glared at him, but kept talking. "I guess I never expected rejection. She had been so infatuated with me before. And it seemed so obvious to me that we were meant to be together. Well, needless to say, it wasn't as obvious to her." He laughed—a bitter, scornful laugh. "I'll never forget the look on her face."

They were sitting on the floor of the master bedroom working on the never-ending list of housework when he told her.. Harry had chosen that moment to say what had been on his heart these past days.

_Ginny stared at him for a moment, confused. A smile started to play at her lips. "Very funny, Harry." She shook her head, chuckling, as she continued to sort out the pile of clothes which used to be Mrs. Black's wardrobe. _

_Harry looked at her disbelievingly. "I wasn't joking." _

_She dropped the cloak she had been holding and slowly brought her eyes up to his. It hit her at once- he was serious! "Oh Harry, I'm sorry..." if only he had said something two years ago. "You're a great friend Harry, actually my best friend, and I treasure that friendship more than anything else." It pained her to say it, but she wanted their friendship to be built on honesty, so it was necessary.." But that's it. Friends."_

"Friends," Harry repeated. He couldn't decide what he didn't believe more: Ginny's rejection or his stupidity at ever thinking she would accept him. 

"_Oh Harry," she moved closer to him, "I had no idea. I'm truly sorry, but I just can't be in a relationship right now." She raised a hesitant hand to his shoulder._

The walls went up, and Harry snorted. "You can't, huh? I guess you had enough in the past year." He glared at her, and Ginny looked perplexed. "What was it Gin, a new guy every week?"

"_Harry..." Ginny pulled back her hand as if the touch of his skin had seared it. She fought back tears, hurt and confusion reflecting in her eyes. _

"_I guess if I hadn't said anything you would have eventually worked around to me, seeing how you almost used up all the guys in the school already." Harry spat, not thinking about what he was saying. _

_Ginny's tears quickly disappeared as her temper flared into action. She jumped to her feet. "Take that back."_

_Harry also stood. "I can't take it back, seeing how it's the truth. Deny it all you want, but you're nothing but a whore."_

_As soon as the word escaped his mouth, he knew he probably shouldn't have said it. It lingered in the air, and the room was silent. Ginny wordlessly drew her wand and pointed it straight between Harry's eyes. "Take it back," she hissed._

_Harry was not about to give in; he was still burning from the rejection. "No."_

_Ginny's eyes grew narrow, she was breathing heavily and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the wand. "Then get out. Now. Before I do something I'd regret." Each word was spat with a measure of hatred, and Harry suddenly grew afraid. That look in her eyes... she wasn't kidding._

"_Ginny...I...I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said that, I just..."_

"I told you to get out. Now go."

_Harry looked at her, lost for words. Where would he go? It was past midnight, and London was dangerous, especially for him. He had needed extra protection ever since Voldemort had been seen at the ministry headquarters._

"_Take your little broom and go," she said flatly. "And never come back."_

_It was now obvious that this wasn't a joke. Ginny was dead serious. She kept her wand pointed at him as he grabbed his broom and opened the window. The cool night air rushed in and encircled his body as he looked one last time at her, and a shiver went through his body as he saw how empty and cold her eyes were. Harry looked back out the window. He had no idea where he'd go, but right now he wanted to be as far away as possible. "Bye, Gin," he muttered before taking off._

Draco looked extremely amused. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Harry glared at him again. "Do you even realize the seriousness of that? She sent me to my death!"

"Obviously she didn't, because you're here today," Draco smirked. The story made Ginny both a bit daunting and more appealing at the same time. It was quite the electrifying combination, Draco determined.

"The next morning Mrs. Weasley noticed my absence and asked Ginny about it. She casually mentioned what had happened. The whole house freaked out and sent out a search party. I was found nine hours after she kicked me out. Luckily I was safe, but who knows what could have happened, with all the Death Eaters on the hunt."

Draco nodded, appreciating the seriousness of the situation. "What a bitch," he commented, although he found that Ginny's actions were a bit admirable at the same time.

"You're telling me," Harry smirked. "So I went back to the hideout to find that she had moved into the basement of all places. She didn't talk to me or even face me again until we went to Hogwarts. Then, on the train, she stepped up to me and apologized, like everything would go back to normal."

"And I take that it didn't," Draco remarked.

"Oh no, I was mad. I had apologized, taken back what I called her, but she didn't care. First she rejected me and then she tried to kill me, and then expected two words to make it all better. So I gave a few more choice words about what I though of her."

Draco buried his head into his hands at Harry's stupidity. "You didn't."

"I did. I guess now I may regret some of it, but she met my insults and returned them tenfold. Ginny's a tough girl, as I said before, she can take care of herself."

Draco looked at Harry, at the anger in his eyes that mixed with something else. Of course he still had feelings for her, Draco figured, but his ego was bruised. Draco's thoughts turned to Ginny, and how wary she always was, how quick to defend herself. "She may be able to take care of herself, but you caused her to go back into her shell," he said. "She didn't open up to anyone before you, and now you probably ruined her chance of growing close to anyone else."

"Since when do you care?" snapped Harry. Draco just shrugged. "Anyway, I guess I'm sort of feeling guilty now. I'm still mad at her, and she's still mad at me, but something has to change." He leaned back, took of his glasses, and began to rub his temples. "I don't know."

"Neither do I."

Harry looked up at him. "You said you'd give me advice if I told you the story. So advise away."

"Hey now, Potter. I said that I'd give you advice about seducing the mudblood, not Ginny. She's _my_ target."

"Did it ever occur to you that women are more than goals, Malfoy?"

"Funny coming from you." The boys glared at each other, but something had changed. They were actually talking like friends, not enemies. They were going to each other for advice, discussing girl problems. At that realization, Harry stood. He did not want a friendship with Draco Malfoy, no matter what. He left without a word.

Draco watched him walking away, reflecting on all that was revealed. _This certainly changes things._

Ron stormed across the library, running right into Hermione, who was once again engrossed in a book. "Sorry," he muttered.

Hermione hopped to her feet and backed away. "It's okay, Ron." She eyed him with caution.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Hermione, I'm done with that. It was so dumb in the first place, I can't believe I agreed to it."

"Yeah, Harry said that he called off the bet."

"He did? I didn't know that. Oh well," Ron looked around eagerly. "Have you seen Ginny?"

"Not recently, why?"

"As you know, Draco's been after her. But now," you could practically see the steam coming from his ears, "he has ammunition. Harry sold her out to Draco."

"You're kidding me!" Hermione was shocked. She knew Harry was mad at Ginny, but couldn't comprehend him doing something like that.

"No, and I can't find her." The words had hardly escaped her mouth before Ginny came storming across the library, holding the flowing skirts in her hand. She stopped briefly by Hermione and Ron.

"Men are scum. _All_ of them!" She let out a scream before continuing on her way.

Hermione smiled. Ron looked at her and his anger melted away, and a smile filled his face, too. "Well I guess she can fend for herself."

"Yeah," Hermione sighed, "but they had been such good friends. It's like they're lost without each other."

"Better off, I'd say," Ron said under his breath. They stood in silence for awhile, before Ron looked at the book in her hand. "What are you reading?" he inquired.

Hermione launched into a long monologue about wandless magic and Smudle VI. Ron hung on every word. "That's bloody fascinating!"

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, "I found books one through four of his memoirs, but it's in book five that he supposedly describes step-by-step instructions for wandless magic. And I can't find it anywhere!"

Ron scanned the ground. "No wonder."

"Help me look?" Hermione smiled at him hopefully.

"Sure!" Ron grinned ear to ear.

After talking with Harry, Ginny had retreated behind a bookcase and was in a position where he couldn't see her hiding spot, but she could peer at him between the books. She saw his conversation with Draco and had no doubt that she was the subject. She watched as Harry's expression turned from anger to nostalgia to sadness to betrayal and back to anger. Draco simply nodded continuously, interjecting a word once in awhile. Then the boys shared a few cross words, and Harry stood and quickly walked away.

Ginny breathed heavily, trying to keep herself from crying. But the tears came anyway. All she wanted to do was take a nap and not have to deal with anything until she woke up. But Draco Malfoy was sitting right at the door to the bedroom, and she certainly didn't want to walk past him. Trying to get her sobs under control, she continued to watch and wait.

Polishing off his sphere, Draco decided that he had enough mystery food for the day. He contemplated what to do next. Harry had gone who-knows-where, and frankly Draco couldn't care less. Ron and Hermione were wading through books on the other side of the library, talking and laughing. And then there was Ginny.

Draco worked hard to contain a smile as he thought about her. Did she actually think that he couldn't see her? Of course Potter had been oblivious to her, seeing how his back was facing her hideout. But Draco kept on catching glances of her face and especially that bright red hair out of the corner of his eye. What was she doing? Why was she sitting there watching him? He suddenly had an idea. Making a big show of it, Draco stretched and yawned. Then he fluffed the red food bag and laid on it like a pillow. Within minutes the air was filled with his fake snores.

Ginny saw it all. _He's sleeping. Perfect!_ She immediately got to her feet and tip toed past him, through the door to the bedroom. Collapsing on the large bed, she buried her face into a pillow and allowed herself to cry.

She didn't hear the door open, nor sense someone sit on the bed next to her. But suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder. Ginny gasped, but didn't raise her head. She hated to have anyone else see her cry, even though she supposed that it was Hermione comforting her. The hand started to reassuringly stroke her back, and Ginny's sobs slowly subsided. Eventually she pulled herself up.

"Thanks, you're a good friend Hermio...Malfoy??" Her mouth hung open.

"The one and only!" He grinned pricelessly.

With a groan, Ginny once again hid her face in the pillow. Draco frowned down at her. He had come in expecting to tease her, to taunt her, and yes, to hit on her. But seeing her crying had left him not knowing what to do. He certainly hadn't expected to comfort her. But it had just happened, next thing he knew he was sitting next to her and stroking her back. Draco frowned deeper. Now that wasn't right. His mind raced with things to say, looking down at her form. Even though her face was buried in the pillow, he could see the blush spreading on the back of her neck. He remembered her face when she had looked up at him, red and blotchy, puffy bloodshot eyes, swollen mouth, it was all strangely beautiful. And here he sat on a bed with a girl who he had marked for his prey and he- Draco Malfoy- could not think of one lewd thing to say or advance to make. It just didn't seem right.

"Sit up, Ginny, I have something to say to you." Inside, he told himself to stop right there, but the words came out anyway, just as he had almost unconsciously reassured her a few minutes before. There was something so pure and innocent about her forlorn face that seduction was the last thing on his mind. For some reason, Ginny obeyed, drawing her head from the pillow where it left wet spots where her eyes and mouth had been. She inched herself away from him and stared down at where her hands nervously played with the sheets. Draco looked around the room anxiously, not sure where to begin.

"Now you have to listen, because I can guarantee that you'll only hear this from my mouth once. I'm not even sure why I'm telling you this. But if you ever try to mention it to me or anyone else again, I'll deny it all." She felt his eyes burning into her body, and looked up, their eyes locking.

"Being alone is no way to live, Ginny, I can tell you that from experience. If you try to keep it all to yourself, it will destroy you." He shut his eyes tight, reflecting on his own life, but forced himself to continue. "Now for some odd reason, Potter actually cares about you. I know that he does a crummy job of showing it, but it's the truth. Now if you two could put aside your pride and the past, you wouldn't have to deal with it all on your own, and neither would he."

Ginny watched him, awestruck. His eyes were closed, their light lashes almost blending into his fair skin. His skin was so pale it seemed devoid of any color at all, and had a strange purity to it. Ginny had always thought it odd that such light features would accompany such dark features. Draco opened his eyes and briefly met hers. He turned away quickly, as if he had changed his mind about what he was going to say, and stood. Ginny's gaze followed him as he walked to the door and opened it. He paused before exiting, but didn't turn around when he spoke. "Some of us are destined to live our lives alone. Others have something too special inside to keep to themselves. You're in the second group."

"And you?" asked Ginny, even though she had a pretty good idea of his answer.

He was taken aback, but still answered, although kept his face towards the door. "As I said, some of us are destined to be alone. We just learn to deal with it." With that, he walked through the door, slightly slamming it behind him.


	7. Role Reversal

Chapter 7: Role Reversal

Ginny stared at the door, which was still slightly vibrating from being closed so abruptly. Had Draco Malfoy just been kind to her? She rubbed her eyes and stood up. Even though he had slammed the door, he had seemed sad rather than angry.

_Some of us are destined to live our lives alone. Others have something too special inside to keep to themselves. You're in the second group._ Now what was that supposed to mean? If she wasn't mistaken, Draco Malfoy had just given her love advice. Ginny stepped into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face.

He had encouraged her to make amends with Harry! She still couldn't believe it. For the past two days Draco had been attempting to seduce her, then all of the sudden he was urging her to be with his greatest enemy. It didn't make any sense.

_We just learn to deal with it._ It was so sad. Ginny looked in the mirror, her brown eyes wide. His voice had been different somehow. It didn't have that same cruel, vindictive sneer or scheming tone. What was it? Were these seemingly new qualities in him a fabrication, a result of boredom? Was it something genuine to his character? She reflected on how he had slowly stroked her back, how he closed his eyes when he spoke. He had the perfect opportunity to make a move on her, and he passed.

Turning around, Ginny saw clothes hanging to dry over the towel rack. She reached out to feel them-they weren't wet anymore. She quickly changed out of that hideous gown and into her own skirt and blouse. Then, on impulse, she grabbed the shirt and pants that were also now dry-Draco's clothes.

Something inside her snapped. Ginny walked out to the library with new determination. "Okay, Draco. You yourself said that being alone is no way to live," she whispered. "So I'm going to make sure you don't have to." She paused for a minute, thinking about how this was something she would not usually do, also remembering what Hermione said about people acting differently in extreme circumstances.

She looked over her shoulder, as if afraid that there was someone around who would see her. Upon seeing that the others were elsewhere in the room, she took a deep breath and pulled up her skirt, rolling the top down a few times so it was many inches shorter. "This," Ginny said in a whisper before continuing on her way to find Draco, "is what we call role reversal."

Harry was on his hands and knees, searching for something among the books strewn all over the floor. But he wasn't looking for Ginny's wand or a book about wandless magic. Rather, he was in search of a dirt-flavored puzzle piece.

"Bloody bag," he muttered, "I'm starving." He finally spotted the object he was searching for, and eagerly grabbed it, taking a bite. It was disgusting. Harry shifted so he was sitting with his legs crossed, and forced himself to take another bite. It was the only way. If he didn't eat it, everything else he tried from the bag would taste like dirt, too. He made a sour face, his eyes drifting over to Ron and Hermione.

They were a few feet apart from each other, digging through the piles of books on the floor. Hermione was on her knees, shifting through various tomes. From time to time she would pick one up and page through it with interest. When she deemed it was not what she was looking for, she'd throw it over her shoulder. Ron was also on his knees, although he was not searching with as much gusto as Hermione.

Harry's eyes narrowed as he shoved the rest of the wretched food into his mouth. What were they looking for? Hermione's hands came to a rest on a particularly old-looking book, and she smiled, shifting so she was sitting on the floor. Within a second, her nose was buried within its pages.

Ron glanced over his shoulder and smiled at her. The slits of Harry's eyes became even thinner. But before he could analyze Ron's look, he heard a noise behind him and quickly turned around.

It was Ginny, looking at him wide-eyed and carrying a bundle of clothes. There was something different about her, but Harry couldn't place it. Ginny opened her mouth as if to speak, but quickly shut it and turned beet red before scrambling off in the opposite direction.

Harry shook his head as he watched her run away.

"I'm a fool," Draco slammed his fist against the wall of the library. He was already regretting his behavior towards Ginny. It was so unlike him. He let out a heavy sigh, collapsing onto the floor, his back against the wall. First hitting on a Weasley, now this. He just wanted to get out, so he could get back to despising all Gryffindors, being feared by everyone else...he just wanted to be a Malfoy again.

"I brought you your clothes," he looked up, his eyes meeting the ones of the last person he wanted to see. "They're dry."

"Thanks," he muttered, grabbing the bundle from Ginny. He glared up at her. "About what I said earlier, just forget it. I'm not myself lately."

"No kidding," said Ginny, sliding down next to him. "No one is. Except maybe Harry. He's always a git."

"Yes, yes he is," mumbled Draco, staring off into space. An awkward silence surrounded them, and Ginny shifted nervously. _What now?_ She had never tried to seduce anyone before. She looked at Draco. He was scowling at nothing, clearly unhappy with himself and not wanting her company. Ginny immediately regretted coming over to him.

"What?" he asked after several moments, finally turning to face hers. "What do you want?" His eyes drifted from her face, to her crumpled blouse, to her rolled-up skirt, finally resting on her exposed thigh. "Good lord, Weasley, did your skirt shrink or something?" His voice actually cracked.

"I...uhh..." Ginny stuttered, at a loss of words and actions. She finally decided to do the only thing she knew how to: retreat. Jumping to her feet, she tried to run away but instead tripped on one of the books strewn across the floor, and landed hard on the ground.

Ginny groaned, staring up at the ceiling. She heard Draco shift, stand, and walk over to her. He leaned over her body, his face filled with a grin. "That was the funniest thing I've ever seen," he said, offering her his hand. Thoroughly humiliated, she had no choice but to accept, and allow him to drag her to her feet.

Once standing, Ginny was again filled with an urge to bolt, but Draco held tightly to her arm. His other hand drifted down to her waist, and he pushed aside the edge of her blouse, revealing the rolled-up waistline. "What are you getting at, Weasley?" he chuckled.

Ginny once again tried to pull away. "None of your business!"

"Are you trying...to seduce me?" Draco's grin grew.

"Of course not!" Ginny falsely insisted, trying for the third time to wrench her hand out of his.

Draco was unconvinced, and rightly so. "So why the bloody hell would you make your skirt so short?"

"Uhh..." Ginny stared at their joined hands. "I'm not trying to seduce you..." she started.

"You said that already," said Draco, thoroughly enjoying the situation.

Ginny's mind raced, and finally settled on the only viable excuse. "...I'm trying to seduce Harry," she finished, cringing.

Draco dropped her hand and stared at her in disbelief. "What?"

"Harry," Ginny brushed off her skirt, blushing profusely. "That's right, I decided to take your advice. Just thought I'd drop off your clothes first." She rubbed her hand and glared at him. "Gosh, Malfoy, the world doesn't revolve around you."

Draco's eyes flashed. "Like hell it doesn't," he said before grabbing her around the waist and pressing his lips upon hers. Ginny pushed away with force.

"Remember what happened last time you tried that?" she snapped, her eyes flashing. "Well, I'm off to find Harry." She ran away before he could grab her again.

"Good luck with the deflowering!" sneered Draco, staring after her. His heart was beating with adrenaline, and he was admittedly more confused than ever. He was upset that Ginny was pursuing Harry, but not merely for competitive reasons. And it made him angry that he was getting so worked up. With a deep breath, he picked up his clothes and looked. Upon seeing that no one was in the vicinity, he quickly stripped off the sheet and started getting dressed.

Ginny paused once she was out of sight, leaning against a bookshelf to catch her breath. She had set off to seduce him, and had chickened out. But then he attempted to seduce her, and she once again ran away. "Great job, Ginny," she muttered to herself, "you sure have a way with the men."

"Talking to yourself is never a good sign, even with you," said a voice. Ginny looked up to see Harry, and immediately turned red again. "What?" he asked, looking confused and angry.

"Umm," Ginny's hands immediately went to her waistline, which she unrolled. Harry watched wide-eyed. Something ignited inside of him.

"What happened to your skirt?" he asked angrily. "Did Malfoy do that?"

Ginny turned even redder, if possible. "No, Malfoy did nothing to my bloody skirt." Having her skirt back to its normal length, she started walking away. _Is it just me_, she thought, _or did Harry seem to be defensive? Why would he care what Malfoy and I do?_

Harry watched her walk away, and sighed loudly. He turned to head in the other direction, but upon whirling around found himself face to face with Draco Malfoy.

Hermione turned the page and was filled with disappointment. She had thought that she finally found what she was looking for, only to see that it was some cheap imitation. "I don't care about circus magic!" she exclaimed, throwing the book over her shoulder.

"Ow!" came a cry, and Hermione looked over her shoulder, seeing Ron sitting on the floor and rubbing his head. "Watch where you fling your reading materials, girl."

Hermione giggled and picked up another book. This one hit him in the shoulder. "Bloody woman," muttered Ron, getting to his feet and starting towards her. Hermione squealed and hopped up, running away.

Through her laughter, she could hear Ron closely behind her. But she also heard a loud _thunk_, and the pursuing footsteps stopped. Hermione slowed her pace and looked in curiosity. Ron was laying on his back on the floor, seemingly having slipped on a book. "Oh no, Ron!" cried Hermione, running over to his side. He was unconscious, his ankle was badly twisted. Hermione's eye shifted to the pile of books next to him, having been disrupted from his fall. Underneath a large green volume, barely sticking out, was the tip of Ginny's wand.

The last time they talked it was under different terms, almost like they were friends. But this time it was rival verses rival as Harry's angry green eyes stared into Draco's cold gray ones. "What did you do to her?" Harry demanded flatly.

"Me?" asked Draco. He laughed but his eyes stayed set. "What did _you_ do to her?"

"What do you mean?" demanded Harry taking a step forward, "I did nothing."

Draco also stepped forward, and the boys' glaring eyes and clenched teeth were barely a foot apart. "Her skirt..." started Draco, not sure what to say. Why had Ginny rolled up her skirt for him?

"Yes, let's talk about her skirt," growled Harry, his mind filled with all sorts of ideas of what the sinister Malfoy had done to poor innocent Ginny.

"Let's not," came a third voice, and the two boys turned to see Ginny, who had grabbed her robe and wrapped it tightly around her body. Her face now seemed permanently flushed. "You," she walked up to Harry, "have no right sticking your nose in my business. And besides, you more than anyone should know that I can handle myself." Draco snickered, and Ginny turned to him. "And you...what I do with other people really doesn't concern you either, and if you try one more thing on me..."

"What did he try on you?" demanded Harry.

"Why do you care Harry?" Ginny asked, her eyes demanding the truth. "I thought you hated me. I mean, just hours ago you were giving out personal information about me so Draco could seduce me, and now you're defending me? And after not speaking one kind word to or about me for months, you're suddenly concerned with what happens to me?" Her voice wavered, and she was afraid that she was going to start crying again.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. His eyes shot to the floor. "I, uhh..." he stuttered before giving a sigh of resignation. "Ginny, I don't know. I was so mad at you. But that was a long time ago. And being here with you these past couple days has got me thinking, and now I realize that I..."

"Um, a little help here?" all three teenagers turned to see Hermione coming towards them, struggling to drag a body behind her.

"Ron!" cried Ginny. Harry hurried over to help Hermione. "What happened?"

"It's his ankle," said Hermione between breaths, "it's hurt, but I don't think badly. Let's get him to the bed."

Draco stepped over to offer his assistance, and he and Harry picked up Ron and walked into the room while Ginny followed. Hermione watched them, her hand going to the pocket where the wand was concealed.

She had healed Ron's leg. He was still out cold, but when he woke up he would be better. Not perfect, but better. He still wouldn't be able to completely walk, for that he needed Madame Pomfry's assistance.

Hermione sighed. But even if they got out, who's to say that it was safe beyond those walls? For all she knew, Death Eaters could be wandering the corridors.

And then there were Harry and Ginny...what had they been up to before Hermione interrupted them? Harry had been on the verge of saying something big, she just knew it. If they were to leave now, Harry and Ginny would probably just go on hating each other for the rest of their lives. _But if they had a couple more days stuck in here with nothing to do but talk to each other,_ Hermione thought, _who knows? Maybe they'll even make up._

She withdrew her hand from her robe and patted the pocket, feeling the wand underneath the fabric.

"Hermione!" Hermione whipped around guiltily to see Ginny standing behind her. "I need to talk to you." Hermione swallowed hard and followed her into the bedroom, where Ron was laying unconscious on the bed. The other two boys had disappeared. "He'll be okay, right?" Ginny was struggling to hold back tears.

"Oh, Gin, of course he will be," Hermione walked over and took her friend in her arms. "He'll be fine. Until then, we'll let him have our bed. Okay?" Ginny nodded, but didn't stop crying. Hermione had a feeling it was due to more than her brother's injury. "What's up, Gin?" she softly asked.

"Oh, I don't know!" bawled Ginny. "It's Harry...and Draco too! I mean, suddenly I'm regretting what I did to Harry this past summer. I've always said that I was sorry, but that was just sorry for kicking him out of the house. I never meant that I was sorry for rejecting him, but now I'm realizing that maybe I do have feelings for him after all! I mean, I was in love with him for three years after all, that can't mean nothing!"

Hermione smoothed her hand over her friend's hair as Ginny continued. "But maybe that's just because we're stuck in this bloody library. You yourself said that people act differently under these circumstances!"

"True," whispered Hermione, not sure what else to say.

"And then there's Draco!" continued Ginny. "I just don't know what to make of him! First he tried to seduce me, which is most likely due to the situation. But when I was upset about Harry and crying in the room he came and he actually comforted me." She raised her eyes to Hermione's. "And the things her said...oh Hermione, I don't think he would have said them normally, but somehow I just know that they were true. I don't think he'd make it all up!"

"What did he say?"

"Well, he told me to make things right with Harry, because I don't deserve to be alone. And then he said that some people are destined to be lonely and they just have to deal with it, and I know he was talking about himself! Oh Hermione, my heart just broke when he said that. He was so genuine, and seemed so hurt. I don't think just a façade or temporary trait that only came out in these circumstances."

"Wow," said Hermione. Ginny rubbed her eyes.

"Wow is right. And now I think I may have feelings for Harry, yet I'm feeling something for Draco too...I just don't know what to do!"

"Uhh, I hate to interrupt," it was Draco, stepping up to the girls, "but have either of you seen the food bag? Potter and I are starving!"

The girls rolled their eyes, but helped the boys rummage around the floor of the darkening library until they found the bag. As they sat around a table in silence, munching on various items, Ginny sniffed as her eyes darted from Draco to Harry, who were both looking down at the table, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Hermione sighed and stood up.

"I'm going to check on Ron," she said. The three teens nodded as she walked off.

An incredibly awkward silence ensued. Ginny eventually cleared her throat, and both boys looked up at her. "What?" she asked.

"Well, I thought you were going to say something," Harry answered shortly.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Enough of this already. Potter, you were going to say something to Weasley here before Granger interrupted. Now spit it out."

Harry did something he rarely ever did: blush. Briskly standing, he fixed a glare on his face. "It's nothing."

Ginny watched with wide eyes as Harry walked away. Draco looked at her, and opened his mouth to speak. "Ginny...I...uhhh..." he was speechless. For once in his life, Draco Malfoy couldn't think of anything to say. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, standing up and walking in the opposite direction of Harry.

Ginny watched him go, and glanced around the barren library, finally collapsing on the table and yet again bursting into tears.


	8. Shaking Things Up a Bit

Chapter Eight: Shaking Things Up a Bit

Draco sighed a deep sigh of boredom and discontent. He was sick and tired of being in this bloody library!

Sure, it had been fun at first. He had decided to seduce the Weasley girl, and had a good run with that. Then he had poured his heart out to her, _that_ had certainly been interesting too.

But just as the first two days were jam packed with excitement, these last two days had been as dull as imaginable. He hadn't had any chance to fool around with the Weasley girl, as she was always sitting in with her unconscious brother. He couldn't taunt the mudblood, because she ways always with Ron, too. And he had lost all joy in bothering Potter since they were initially stranded.

So here sat Draco Malfoy, on day five of his library adventure, reading a book. Yes, that's right: reading a book. There was literally nothing else to do. He couldn't recall the last time he had actually spoken to someone, or someone had spoken to him.

He remembered being in this position before, just four days ago: stranded with nothing to do but read. But he had found a solution, oh yes, his male hormones never failed to find him something to do. And they were starting to kick in again, as he saw the Weasley girl emerge from behind the bookcase.

Draco hopped to his feet and started walking over to her. Ginny had picked up the red bag and pulled out a handful of miscellaneous objects. Draco grinned in anticipation: he was almost there! But then, just as quick as she had come out, the Weasley girl went back behind the bookcase. Draco stopped in the middle of the library, frowning.

Harry soon came over and also pulled something out of the bag. Draco decided that he might have to deal with talking to him. It was better than reading, at least. Telling his hormones they would have to wait, he started walking again.

But then Hermione emerged from the bookcase, and started talking to Harry. They exchanged a few words, then Harry shrugged and disappeared into the room behind the bookcase. Hermione smiled and sat down at a table, rummaging through the red bag.

Draco sighed. He would have to settle on talking with the mudblood. He walked over to her. Hermione smiled up at him. "Hi Draco," she said.

Draco looked at her but said nothing. An idea was filling his head. A wonderful, brilliant (albeit a bit repulsive) idea. Hermione Granger was a girl. And not a bad looking one either.

"Uh, Draco?" she questioned, waving her hand in front of his face. Draco snapped back to reality.

"Yeah, hi Granger." He sat down on the other side of the table, blindly reached for the food bag, and stared at her.

Yes, not bad-not bad at all. She would do, if for no other purpose than to occupy his time.

"SHE'S A MUDBLOOD!" The built in pure-blood alarm went off in his head, reminding him that wizards of his caliber did not associate with such scum.

Draco shook his head, taking in her wavy brown hair, dark eyes, and creamy skin. He intently watched her lips as they took a bite of the shape she was eating. Blood obligations be damned. "Shut up," he muttered to his brain, which was still screaming about her bloodline, "and let me have some fun."

"What's that?" asked Hermione, looking at him in confusion.

"Oh nothing," Draco said silkily, leaning in, "Hermione."

Ginny sat on the floor, buried in Madame Pince's wretched dresses. She listened to the soft sound of Ron's steady breathing as she lifted up a maroon gown to examine.

"Uh, Ginny?" 

Ginny quickly turned her head, seeing Harry standing in the door. "Oh, hi Harry," she said softly. He walked over to her.

"How's Ron?" he asked.

"Just the same," Ginny set down the dress, "out cold, but alive."

Harry looked down at her and cocked his head. "What are you doing?"

Ginny let out a small, nervous laugh. "Well these clothes," she indicated the school uniform she was wearing, "are getting dirty again. I've been wearing them for two straight days. So I'm trying to find a halfway decent dress to wear."

Harry laughed. Judging from the gowns surrounding her, there were no viable candidates to fulfill the standard of "halfway decent." He slowly walked to the other side of the room.

"Can I help?" he asked. There was nothing else to do. He had been sitting out in the library, bored for the past two days, avoiding Malfoy and occasionally exchanging a word with Hermione.

"Sure," said Ginny eagerly, pushing aside a pile of dresses to make room for him to sit.

Harry took his place next to her, and picked up the nearest gown, which was puke-green. He raised it to his face. "What do you think, is it my color?"

Ginny giggled. "Oh yes, it brings out your eyes." Both teenagers laughed, but then abruptly stopped.

It was all too familiar: sitting on the ground, sorting through clothes, laughing. It was the exact same situation in which they had been in that past summer, when they had the fight. Their eyes met, both thinking the same thing.

Ginny swallowed hard and looked down, her eyes filling with tears. She wanted to say so much, but she had already apologized countless times, it was useless.

Harry cleared his throat. "Déjà vu," he muttered with a forced smile.

Ginny looked up at him with watery eyes. "Harry..." she began.

Harry didn't give her an opportunity to speak. He held a finger to her lips to silence her, and gently brushed the tears from her eyelashes. He softly ran his hand down her cheek, and locked his green eyes with her brown. "Ginny, it's okay," he whispered before leaning in and covering her lips with his.

"Malfoy!" Hermione screeched, running across the library. She heard his footsteps right behind her. What was happening?

"Oh, c'mon Hermione," came his drawl. She frowned, coming around the curve of a standing book shelf. She ran down the row, sensing that he was gaining on her. This was too much. Not only was Draco Malfoy calling her "Hermione," but if she wasn't mistaken, he had made a pass at her.

Hermione reached the end of the row, running as fast as her legs would allow. She saw the bookcase that was the door to the secret room partially open. Just a little farther...she sped up, hearing Draco's steps falling farther back. "I'm going to make it!" she thought with triumph, turning her head to grin back at Draco. Big mistake.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed as she ran full-force into a table. Her feet were swept out from underneath and she landed on the floor with a hard thump.

Hermione groaned as she stared up at the ceiling. She lay on the floor immobile, listening to Draco's footsteps draw near until they were upon her. His grinning face filled her line of vision.

"Go away Malfoy," she moaned. He said nothing, but extended his hand down to her. Having no other choice, she accepted, and he pulled her to her feet.

Hermione tried to jerk away, but he wouldn't let go of her hand. Draco's devious grin grew and he pulled her towards him.

"Draco Malfoy, stop this instant!" Hermione insisted, "what the bloody hell are you doing? You're not yourself. You hate me, remember? You're a Malfoy and I'm just a lowly mudblood."

Draco smiled down at her. "Say it again."

"What?"

"Mudblood. Say it again, it's sexy."

"I can't believe..." Hermione never had an opportunity to finish her sentence, as Draco forced his mouth down on hers.

She froze, unable to move. Draco released her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist, but Hermione stayed still as he pressed his lips harder.

It was her first kiss. Her very fist kiss. Her knees buckled, her breath caught in her throat, her heart pounded. She-Hermione Granger-was being kissed!

Draco smiled to himself and tightened his grip on her. Finally. This was sure better than reading.

Hermione continued in her state of euphoria for a moment, but then something snapped in her head. It was her first kiss- her very first kiss was being stolen! And by Draco Malfoy of all people! This wasn't how it was supposed to be!

Her arms snapped into action, bracing themselves against his chest and pushing him away as hard as possible. Draco stumbled backwards, frowning at her. Then he grinned, "I'm not done with you, Granger," he said, taking a step forward.

"Oh no you don't." As quick as lighting Hermione's hand shot into the folds of her monstrous dress and pulled out Ginny's wand. She pointed it at Draco's heart.

"Granger! Where the bloody hell did you get that from?"

_Oops_. "I...uhh..."

Draco laughed. "No matter, just get us out of here."

Hermione dropped her arm and pondered for a moment. Maybe the danger outside was gone. They hadn't heard a noise from beyond the walls since they had become trapped. It could be perfectly safe to finally get out of this place. She could sleep in her own bed, shower in her own bathroom, wear her own clothes...things might just be back to normal.

"Okay," she muttered, turning around. "Okay, Malfoy, that sounds like a good idea. I'll try to blast through the wall. She walked over to the wall, and he followed. Her mind was still racing.

Harry and Ron would stop doing silly things like chase her around and make unreasonable bets. Ron could be taken to the hospital wing and completely cured. Draco would stop hitting on Ginny, and even better, leave Hermione herself alone. Normal. That's all she wanted.

Laughter interrupted her thoughts, and Hermione turned to see that it was coming from behind the partially-opened bookcase. Ginny and Harry were sitting on the floor of the room, throwing Madame Pince's dresses at each other. Ginny took a monstrosity of pink and shoved it in Harry's face, squealing with delight. Harry laughed and pushed it away, then advanced on her. Ginny giggled, stood, and started to run across the room, only to be caught by Harry. He pulled her into an embrace and Ginny hugged back, burying her head into his chest.

Harry and Ginny. They had finally made up. Hermione smiled.

But then her smile disappeared. She remembered how people act differently under extreme circumstances, and how Harry and Ginny had hated each other before being stranded in the library. And now that they were friends for five minutes it didn't mean that it would last. Hermione was willing to bet that they would go back to despising each other the minute they got out. They needed time, at least a couple more days, to affirm that they really didn't mind each other; that quite the opposite, they immensely enjoyed each other's company. They needed to be in this extreme circumstance a little while longer to be forced to spend every minute of every day together, to regain the friendship they had lost, to form something that would last outside these walls.

"Well..." came Draco's expectant voice. "What are you waiting for?"

Hermione took a deep breath, and turned to him, once again raising her wand. 

"Granger, what the..."

"I'm sorry Malfoy," muttered Hermione. She couldn't help the small smile that played at her lips as she yelled, "Oblivate!"


	9. Awakenings

Chapter Nine: Awakenings

The room was pitch black and dead silent, interrupted only by the occasional snort from the boy on the bed. Hermione rolled over and sighed. "Ginny, are you awake?"

"Of course. This floor is so hard."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. Her mind filled with hundreds of thoughts, and she couldn't decide which to vocalize. Should she discuss the Draco problem with Ginny? Or ask her about her reconciliation with Harry? Or maybe even tell her about the wand?

"Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Yes?" Hermione replied, relieved that she wouldn't have to start the conversation.

"I need your advice."

Hermione heard Ginny move around, probably sitting up, and wished that she could see something. With absolutely no windows, the room was so dark. She reached for the wand to do a lighting spell, but decided against it. It would have to be her secret for a little longer. "Ask away," Hermione said, also sitting up.

"I don't know what to do about Harry. You may have noticed that we sort of reconciled."

"Yeah," Hermione admitted.

"Well, I don't know what to do about it. I'm so glad that we're friends again, but it's really hard to trust him after all this time. I mean, looking back, he was really mean to me, even after I apologized. He said that he's sorry, but somehow the words seem empty, and that's not enough to make me be able to completely accept him again."

Hermione chose to remain silent, listening to Ginny as she shifted again.

"But then again that's exactly what happened before, but the other way around. You know, I broke his trust big time, said I was sorry, and he didn't accept it. Now he's the one who apologized and I can't accept it."

"Did you express all this to Harry?" Hermione asked quietly.

"No, I can't. Our relationship is so fragile, I don't want to say anything that would set him off."

"That's no way to live," said Hermione, reaching over blindly to find Ginny's arm, which she patted reassuringly. "How can you have a real friendship, or even something more, if you feel like you're always walking on broken glass around him?"

"I know, that's another thing that worries me." Ginny sighed. "I guess we just need time. You know, time to get used to each other again, time to slowly mend the wounds and rebuild our trust in each other."

Time. Hermione fingered the wand. She could buy Ginny all the time she wanted. As much as she wanted out of this place, she had to wait. She just hoped that it wasn't too much time Ginny wanted.

"So," Ginny said, "what have you been up to today?"

Hermione thought about the kiss, the chase, the fall, the wand, and the curse. She was glad that Ginny couldn't see her grin as she nonchalantly commented, "Oh, nothing much.

Draco Malfoy opened his eyes stared at the high ceiling of the library. His head was aching. He blinked and groaned. How long had he slept? He furrowed his brow. In fact, he couldn't remember ever going to sleep in the first time. He forced himself to sit up. Harry was sitting not too far away from him, scrounging through the red bag. Draco stood and walked over to him.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," commented Harry. "You sure slept a lot."

"Shove it Potter." Draco sat and snatched the bag away from him.

"In fact," continued Harry, "you were out cold when I came out of the room, and that was like seven o' clock. And now," he checked his muggle wristwatch, "it's eleven in the morning. That's sixteen hours. What were you up to yesterday?"

Draco furrowed his brow and thought hard. "I don't remember."

Harry laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a hangover."

"Well you sure are chipper today," Draco muttered.

"Patched things up with Gin," Harry said cheerfully.

Draco frowned. For some reason, the thought of Harry and Ginny together really bothered him. But at the time being, he focused on figuring out what had exactly happened the previous day. He remembered being bored, really bored. So bored that he had tried to read.

"And then I realized that it was just silly to hold onto a grudge like that..."

Harry was apparently relaying the story of his reconciliation with Ginny, but Draco ignored him. He had decided to chase after the Weasley girl again, for a little fun, but she had gone to check on her brother. Harry had followed her. That must be when they made up, as Harry was now explaining.

"It was so weird, just like that night last summer when it all started. But this time, I wasn't going to mess it up."

So Harry had went after Ginny, Draco mused ignoring the story. That left only...Hermione.

"The mudblood!" exclaimed Draco.

"Excuse me?" asked Harry, looking perplexed. "I was talking about Ginny. She's pureblood. Are you even listening to me?"

"Of course not, now shut up," muttered Draco as he strained to remember. He had decided to seduce her, the mudblood, just for kicks. He had chased her, literally. She had run into a table, and it was so hard to not laugh at that. He had pulled her to her feet and...

"Draco?" Harry was waving a hand in front of his face. Draco swung a fist in his direction, and Harry sat back down. "Whatever," he muttered, and continued to eat.

Draco went back to his thoughts. He had kissed the mudblood. Surprisingly, it hadn't been all too repulsive. But it wasn't anything like kissing the Weasley girl. There was something else there, something more than physical pleasure, a type of electricity that he had never felt.

"Back to the mudblood," Draco told himself, getting off his tangent and back to his investigation of what exactly had happened to cause him to sleep for sixteen hours.

"You've gone nutters," said Harry, grinning.

Draco ignored him. They had kissed, then she pushed away. She had been so pissed. He tried to go after her again and she had stopped him.

But how?

Draco's memories ended there. They kissed...she pushed away...he advanced on her again...and then he woke up on the library floor at eleven o'clock a.m. It didn't make any sense.

The bookcase suddenly swung open and the girls walked out, yawning. Harry grinned at them. "Morning, 'Mione. Morning Ginny."

Ginny sat next to him and gave him a sleepy smile. "Good morning Harry." Draco rolled his eyes, and couldn't deny the pang of jealousy he felt in the depths of his stomach. "I'm starving!" Ginny reached in the bag and passed it to Hermione.

Draco's eyes followed the bag from Ginny to Hermione, and he stared intensely at the mudblood. She held the answer. "Granger," he said firmly, "what happened yesterday?"

Hermione dropped the bag. Draco was glaring at her and Harry and Ginny were looking confused. "I..." she stuttered, "I, uh..." She jumped to her feet. "I have to go to the bathroom," she said softly, and ran back behind the bookcase. Draco also sprang to his feet and ran after her.

"He's been acting odd all morning," explained Harry as Ginny shook her head. He reached out and covered her hand with his. "So, how did you sleep?" he asked gently.

Ginny went stiff at his touch. She looked into his eyes and felt a strange sense of panic. Things were supposed to be comfortable with Harry, not like this. She just wanted things to be like they were before this whole mess. But instead it was intensely awkward.

"Ginny?" Harry asked, frowning. She couldn't tell him. What would he say? Instead she just shook her head again and forced a smile.

"Sorry. In fact, I slept awful. That floor is so hard."

Harry laughed. "Now you know how us guys feel, we've been sleeping on the floor all week!"

Ginny also laughed, and hoped that Harry couldn't tell how fake it was.

"Oh no you don't!" Draco just saw Hermione's dress disappear behind the bathroom door as it began to close. He rushed forward and stuck his foot in, preventing the door from slamming.

On the other side, Hermione was wide-eyed. Just great, she thought. Now she was trapped. Draco pried the door open and walked in, closing the door behind him. The bathroom was small, and there was barely any room to move with the two of them stuffed in there together.

Hermione backed against the wall, but Draco didn't move. His eyes were narrowed, as if he was thinking deeply. Hermione took a deep breath and tried to reassure herself. There was no way he could remember what happened, she had been sure of that. But just in case, her right hand slowly slipped down to where the wand was concealed.

"Granger," growled Draco, and she quickly withdrew her hand, "what happened yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione as innocently as possible.

"You know what I mean. What did you do to me?"

"Well," Hermione said cautiously. She wasn't sure how much he remembered. "You chased me, then kissed me..."

"Yeah, yeah," Draco waved his hand, "I know all that. But afterwards, when you pushed me away, what happened?"

"Umm, well, I pushed you away but you didn't get the hint. You stepped forward like you were going to try something again. So I...punched you."

"You punched me?" asked Draco incredulously.

"Yup," Hermione grinned.

"But you're so little," protested Draco.

"Oh get over it," muttered Hermione, "I'm so tired of this machoness." She tried to shove past him, but he blocked the door.

"It isn't about machoness. It's about logic. And it isn't logical that you-all five feet two inches a hundred and ten pounds of you- could knock out me- all six feet three inches a hundred and eighty-five pounds of me."

"Muggle martial arts," Hermione grinned, "they work wonders."

Draco's mind raced. Muggle martial arts? He had heard before that muggles had achieved great physical feats without magic, is that what she was talking about? Well, it made sense...sort of. If she had been able to knock him out, he would have stayed out for awhile. Maybe even sixteen hours. He shrugged, but didn't protest any further. If she had knocked him out before, she could probably do it again. And he sure didn't want another splitting headache.

"Well, good enough for me, catch you later Granger." He quickly left the bathroom.

Hermione laughed and closed the door after him. He had bought it! She went over to the sink and began washing her face. A glance in the mirror revealed the repulsing dress she was wearing. She sighed. She had just put this dress on yesterday, after she decided that her clothes were dirty again. And now they were soaking wet. She had forgotten how long thing took to air dry. One doesn't consider such things when they have magic to take care of things.

"Magic, of course!" Hermione withdrew the wand and pointed it at her clothes. But she stopped. She didn't want to be careless and get caught. She unlocked the door and slowly opened it. Poking her head out of the door, she was confident that no one else was around. Without bothering to close the door, she pointed her wand at the uniform and said the spell.

"Hermione, is that you?" The voice came from the bedroom. Hermione dropped the wand and swore. Quickly, she snatched it up and stuck it back inside her dress. "Hermione?" the voice repeated.

She froze. That wasn't Harry or Ginny or Draco. No, it was...

"Ron!" she exclaimed, running back into the room and throwing her arms around the disheveled redhead on the bed.

Awkward was rapidly becoming the word of the day, Ginny mused as she looked from Harry to Draco. She was glad when Draco had returned to the table, because it took the pressure to act casual around Harry off her. But it added an extra element of awkwardness.

On one side sat Harry. She wanted to be with him, maybe she even loved him, and had since she could remember. But things were weird with him now. He had been so cruel to her, and she had closed herself off to him. Suddenly all the walls were down and it was as if she was expected to act like nothing had ever happened. But she couldn't. She longed to get over it so they could have some sort of a healthy relationship, but she wasn't sure if it was entirely possible.

And on the other side was Draco. He had been her enemy since day one, primarily because he was Harry's enemy, but he had never been anything but nasty to her. But then all of the sudden he was after her, probably because there was nothing else to do in the library. However, after attempting to seduce her he had dropped the act and gave her advice. And for the first time, she felt that she saw the real Draco Malfoy. And now she was completely confused, dealing with feelings she had never felt before, directed at a Malfoy of all people.

The boys definitely felt the awkwardness, too. They sat glaring at each other the entire time, and no one said a word as the three sat at the table. Suddenly, the bookcase opened again and Hermione came out. "Harry, come quick!" she exclaimed. "Ron's up!" Harry sprung up and ran after her, but the other two remained stationary.

"Harry?" said Ginny disbelievingly. "What about me? I'm his sister for Merlin's sake, and she just ignores the fact that maybe I would want to see him too!"

Draco snickered but didn't say anything. Ginny was suddenly hit with the realization that it was just the two of them. Once again: awkward.

"So," said Draco, trying to sound indifferent, "you and Potter, huh?"

"Yeah," Ginny's eyes dropped down to the table. "I guess."

Draco's eyes lit up. "Guess? You don't sound so confident." He didn't like how his heart had suddenly started beating so fast nor the fact that he actually cared.

"No, I didn't mean it that way." Ginny didn't know what to say, but she did know one thing. Draco Malfoy was bad news. He had only showed interest in her because there was no one else to fool around with. She had been a tool the whole time, she tried to tell herself, he was just using her. Even when she had thought he was being serious and vulnerable, he was just scheming the whole time. Or so she tried to convince herself. "I took your little advice," she said coolly.

_Damn_, thought Draco. He had forgotten about that whole conversation. He had actually told her to reconcile with Harry. Even worse, he had opened up to her. His face hardened. "Yeah, that's right. Good for you. Well, I hope you're happy," he stood and started walking away.

Ginny looked at his back, and for some reason felt the urge to cry. She didn't know what to believe. Was it an act? For some reason, she didn't think so. That look in his eyes...it was the same look as that one time in the bedroom. It had to be real. "Draco?" She stood.

He stopped but didn't turn around. What did she want now? He heard her walking up behind him and started a bit as he suddenly felt her hand on his arm. Her touch was so light, almost like she was afraid to touch him. "Don't turn around, don't turn around," his mind ordered. He knew that if he turned around he wouldn't be able to stop the following events.

Was it love? Maybe, maybe not. But whatever the emotion, it was stronger than reason. Whatever this feeling was that caused his blood to run warmer and his head to spin, it told his brain to shut up as he turned and met her eyes with his.

She didn't know what she had expected to see in his eyes, but it certainly wasn't this. Ginny's breath caught in her throat as she stared at him. It wasn't an act, it couldn't be an act. Not even the greatest actor could force himself to look like that, she told herself. Suddenly she was scared. She had never felt like this before.

"I'm no good for you," insisted Draco. He was surprised at how weak his voice was. He tried to pry his eyes away from hers, but he couldn't. "I don't know what you're expecting from me, what type of an image your mind is forming, but with me what you see is what you get. I am not a good person. And, as I said, I am especially not good for you. You'd be better off sticking with Potter."

"I know," said Ginny softly. Strangely, that was half the appeal. She moved her hand down his arm and intertwined her fingers with his. She exhaled loudly and closed her eyes as she stood on her tiptoes and brought her face nearer to his.

"Ginny...Draco?" Draco dropped her hand, Ginny gasped, and they both turned to see Harry standing near the door to the bedroom. "I'll kill you Malfoy!"

Before Ginny could even scream, Harry had run across the room and jumped on Draco. Ginny couldn't tell whose fists were who's as the arms blurred together. As boys rolled on the floor, Ginny didn't know what to do. She cared about both boys, and didn't want to see either one of them hurt, especially on account of her.

So she did something totally irrational. She walked over to the brawl and jumped right in the middle of it. The boys continued fighting and she struggled to push them apart. Suddenly a fist came forward and hit Ginny square on the face. She yelped and her arms dropped and she fell back, hitting the floor hard. Both boys stopped their slugging and stared.

"How long was I out?" Ron grinned at Hermione.

"To tell you the truth, I don't exactly know!" She laughed. "But you sure missed a lot!"

"I did? Harry seemed happy when he was in here, and then he said he was going to go check on Ginny. What's up with that?"

Hermione's smile widened. "Well, they patched things up and I think there's kind of together now." Ron let out a whoop and Hermione laughed again. "But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. They still have a lot of work to do."

"Yeah, well at least they're talking now. That will make life easier for all of us."

"Uh huh," Hermione agreed.

"What else did I miss?" asked Ron, "has Draco been behaving? Last I remember, he was harassing Ginny."

Hermione giggled. "Draco sure is a piece of work! He seems to have left Ginny alone for the time being at least..."

"That's a relief," said Ron. But the look on Hermione's face told him that his relief was a little too hasty. "Wait, you don't mean...he didn't try anything on you, did he?" Hermione just laughed harder. "Why that little..."

"Ron, it's okay," said Hermione between giggles, "I fended him off on my own. Besides, I don't know why you care."

"I do care, Hermione," Ron covered her hand with his. His head was still spinning and a dull pain coursed through his body. Under any other conditions, he probably would not be saying or doing what he now was. "I care more than you know."

Surprised, Hermione looked at him. His face was turning as red as his hair and he quickly looked away. Smiling, she threw her arms around him.

Ron went rigid. "I...uh...you...uh...we..." He finally brought his own arms around her. "I do care," he repeated, "it just took me awhile to admit it."

Hermione pulled away and smiled. "Yeah, six years! Well, I guess some things are worth the wait."

"It was you."

"No way, the bruise is on the wrong side of her cheek. You were on her left, and that's where she was punched."

"Look at that shiner! You're the one always calling me weak. There's no way I could have hit so hard. You're the one with all the muscles."

Draco smirked. He did have a point. "Okay, yes you are scrawny Potter, but it doesn't take too hard of a hit to make it turn purple like that, especially when it's right on the eye."

"Malfoy..."

"Could you two just shut up for a minute?" Ginny was tired of hearing them argue over who had hit her. It sure didn't help the ringing in her ears. She slowly tried to open her left eye, but it hurt too much. "Ouch," she cried, cupping her head in her hands.

Draco pushed Harry away and walked towards Ginny. Harry sprang up and jumped on his back.

"Not again! Would you two just grow up? I'm going to go and see my brother, who I haven't seen conscious in a few days, and Hermione, who may know something to do for this eye. She was raised by muggles, after all." She walked behind the bookcase.

"Get off me, Potter," Draco pushed Harry away and hurried up after Ginny. Harry got to his feet and followed.


	10. It's About Time

Chapter Ten: It's About Time

Ginny stepped through the bookcase door, hearing the boys scramble behind her. This whole love triangle thing was getting old fast. She just wanted to see her brother awake again, and maybe regain some sort of normalcy that had been completely lost these past days.

But as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the room and the figures in front of her came into focus, she realized that normalcy was just about the only thing that was not going on in the library this past week. She halted in the doorway, frozen at the sight of her own brother kissing Hermione.

At first she was disgusted, of course. This was her brother, and she did not want to think of him in _that_ way. But soon a smile played on her lips. Ron and Hermione...it had been so obvious to everyone but the two of them for the past six years. The kiss looked quite awkward, it was obvious neither of them was very experienced, but that added to the sweetness of the whole ordeal. Ginny sighed softly as she wished that she would be kissed that way for once.

Suddenly, a something impacted Ginny from behind. It was Draco, who had come following after her. Unaware that she was stopped just inside the doorway, he had run into her full force. Ginny started to fall forward, but Draco reached out from behind and steadily grabbed her around the waist. "Sorry, I..." he began, but was cut short as Harry, who had been right behind him, did the exact same thing, colliding full force with Draco's back. The three of them comically fell to the floor in a pile or arms and legs.

"What the..." Ron and Hermione quickly tore apart and looked at the heap by the doorway. They burst out in laugher as the three tried to separate themselves.

"Get off me Potter."

"Watch your hand, Malfoy!"

"Draco! That's my..."

After a moment of struggling, Ginny freed herself from underneath the boys and hopped to her feet. They glared at each other and also stood. Ginny's pale cheeks rapidly turned to red as Ron and Hermione stared at her with grins on their faces. She tried to regain some dignity, stood up straight, and brushed her hair out of her face. "Uh, sorry."

Ron laughed again. "It's okay Gin, it's just good to see you," his smile rapidly disintegrated as he looked at his sister, "...what the bloody hell happened to your face?"

"Oh, that's right," Ginny's hand went up to her black eye. "Well, there was a little fight."

"A fight?" asked Hermione in a motherly voice, standing up and walking over to examine Ginny's eye. "What on earth?"

Ron struggled to get out of bed. "Which one of you two prats punched my sister?"

Everyone seemed to talk at once. Ginny was explaining how it was actually her fault, Harry and Draco were blaming each other, Ron was trying to stand up, and Hermione was desperately attempting to get him to stay in bed. Finally Ginny screamed above everyone else.

"Would you all just be quiet?" Silence filled the room as every eye focused on her. "Ron, get back in bed, you're just going to hurt yourself more. Hermione, sit next to him and calm down, I got the situation under control. And you two," she turned to Harry and Draco with an icy glare, "just shut up." Everyone obeyed.

Ginny smiled as she walked over and sat next to Hermione. "The black eye is my fault. Harry and Draco were brawling and I got in the middle of it. I should have known better. I'm not even sure who threw the punch, but I do know that it wasn't aimed at me."

"Geez, I'm sorry Gin," said Ron. He leaned over to touch her cheek. "It looks like it really hurts."

"It does," Ginny shot another glare at Harry and Draco.

"I guess it was only a matter of time before you two started fighting," mused Hermione. "You've hated each other ever since you met, and we should have known that being stuck in here together would have only lead to violence. It's just amazing that you didn't start fighting earlier."

"What provoked the fight?" asked Ron. "Just pent up hate?"

No one said a word, but both Harry's and Draco's eyes focused on Ginny, who in turn blushed even more. Hermione recognized the problem right away. "Uh, probably Ron, it was just building up all along." The last thing she needed was Ron getting upset over his sister. "We should leave you now, you need some rest."

"But I've been asleep for days!" Ron protested as Hermione stood and started to shoo the other three teens out of the room.

"No arguing," Hermione said firmly. "Now I'll check in on you from time to time, but try to relax." She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead before leaving.

Once she was sure that the door was closed and Ron wouldn't be able to hear them, Hermione marched right up to Draco and Harry, who were standing face to face in the middle of the library, looking like they were about to break out in another brawl any minute. "I can't believe you two. Fighting like a couple children."

"He started it," they both whined at the same time.

"Honestly...where's Ginny?" Hermione's eyes scanned the library.

"She went off in a corner somewhere," muttered Harry.

"Said something about wanting to be alone and think things over," added Draco.

"Good for her. Now I'm going to go find her, can I trust you two not to fight while I'm gone?" The boys mumbled something intelligible. "What was that?"

"Yes," they chorused.

"That's better. Now I recommend that you two stay away from each other while I'm gone, just in case. Harry, you go over in that seat by the Botts Bag. You can eat. Draco, you go way over there by that fallen bookcase. You can read. After about a half hour, switch. No complaints."

Draco scowled and Harry shook his head. "We're not five you know," he muttered.

"Well, you're acting like it, so that's how I'm going to treat you. Now get." Hermione waved her hands at them as they went to their designated places. Once she was satisfied that Harry was eating and Draco was reading, she set off to find Ginny.

Ginny pushed the books aside and sat down in a remote area of the library. The toppled bookcases made a sort of fort which was only admissible by crawling under a shelf. She was glad that she had found this cave, it allowed her to think without distraction.

But she didn't want to think about her dilemma, about the two boys who she both cared for, about the decision she'd be forced to make. Rather, she thought back to the best time of her life: last year. She had just gotten over the horror of the Tom Riddle ordeal of her first year, she was starting to actually be friends with Harry without the additional baggage of having a crush on him, and she was finally part of something (the DA) instead of just always tagging along. It had been a wonderful time, up until the drama of the summer.

"And compare that to where I am now," she thought bitterly. There she sat, hiding from everyone else in a library where they had been stuck for almost a week. She was forced to deal with her feelings for two completely different boys, and neither option seemed like it would leave her fully satisfied.

"Ginny?"

"Leave me alone."

"It's Hermione. I want to talk, but I can't see you, I can only hear your voice."

Ginny stuck her head outside the fort. "C'mon in."

Hermione frowned (she didn't like to crawl, for any reason) but followed Ginny inside the cave of bookshelves anyway. She looked around. "It's kind of nice in here. Peaceful."

Ginny scoffed. "Peaceful is just about the last word I would use to describe this past week."

"It's been an adventure, hasn't it?" Hermione grinned.

"That's not the word I'd use either," muttered Ginny as she absentmindedly flipped through a book.

"Think about it, Gin. This past week has been amazing. Sure it's been hard, but it's been sort of fun, hasn't it?" Ginny shook her head, but Hermione continued anyway. "I still remember that first night, when Draco was pursuing you and Harry and Ron were attacking me. How scared we were...and creeped out!" She reached over and put her hand on top of Ginny's. "But we bonded. We made plans. We stayed up late into the night talking and giggling. If it weren't for being stuck in here, I don't think that you and I would ever have become such close friends."

Ginny sighed, but there was a small smile playing on her lips. "I guess. Yeah, you're right, our friendship is a good thing, and it wouldn't have happened like this if we were never stuck in here. But it's the only good thing to come of this wretched experience."

"Is it?" Hermione stared off into the distance as she spoke. "Well, you made amends with Harry. That's definitely a good thing, for all of us. Ron and I finally were able to admit our feelings for one another. And we all found out that Draco Malfoy isn't such a bad guy, despite the appearance he tries to put out."

Ginny frowned once again. "Think back, way back to when we were first stuck in here. You said that the reason everyone was acting differently was because under extreme circumstances, people will act in ways that go completely against their character and personality."

"Yes, I did say that, didn't I? Well, I'd like to amend it. Seeing how things have progressed, I would definitely say that at first, in extreme circumstances, people do not act like themselves. But after awhile, after they go through all that pretending to be someone else, their true character comes out. We see people for what they really are, not who they pretend to be or who they want us to think they are."

"I don't buy it," said Ginny stubbornly.

"Ginny, think about Draco for a minute. Think about the times that he has talked to you and said things you never would have thought that he would say. When you looked into his eyes at those times...are you telling me that he wasn't being genuine?"

Ginny was silent, so Hermione went on. "He's a perfect example of what I'm trying to say here. On the outside he's a total git, mean to everyone, very self centered and haughty. At first when we were in here, he turned into a total Don Juan, trying to seduce you. He would have never done that on the outside, but under the extreme circumstances, he did. And then, after he had been though all that, he actually began to show who he really is. Only to you, apparently, he was actually himself, maybe for the first time in his life."

"Or he's just a really good actor," said Ginny. "I don't know, Hermione, if these things you list are actually good. Like you and Ron, that's good. But me and Harry reconciling? It may seem good, but put that against Draco showing his true self to me. Those two together are not good by any means, because it makes me more confused than I have ever been."

Ginny threw the book to the other side of the fort. "I've been through this a thousand times in my head. Harry makes the most sense. I've been in love with him for practically half my life, he's so sweet and kind, and it seems like we'd make the perfect couple."

"So you chose Harry?" asked Hermione.

"But he's so damn moody!" cried Ginny. "I never know when he's going to fly off the handle again. Yeah, I know he's been through a lot, but that's not an excuse for acting like such a prat towards me. If it weren't for us being stuck in here, I don't know if he would have ever accepted my apology, he would have probably just held a grudge for the rest of his life. What if something happens again, like what happened in Grimmauld place last summer? What if Harry flies off the handle again, and never forgives me? Where will that leave me?"

"I don't know," said Hermione softly.

"And then, as if this wasn't complicated enough, along comes Mr. Draco Malfoy himself. I have never looked at him with anything but hate. I despised him for being so mean to you and Harry and Ron, and was horrified when we were stuck in here together. And then he kept pursuing me and it was so awful! I just didn't know what to do!"

Ginny was fighting to hold back the tears, and Hermione reached into her pocket and felt her wand. Was there any way she could fix any of this with magic? Did she want to risk it.

"But then," continued Ginny, "he all of the sudden says something to me, something really deep. All of the sudden this total jerk turns into someone...someone like no one I've ever met, in a good way. Suddenly my heart is doing things I've never felt it do, like drop deep into my stomach, or beat a thousand times a second when I look at him."

"So, you pick Draco?"

"If only it were that simple. Maybe these feelings are fleeting. Maybe it's just because I'm stuck in here that I'm feeling like this. And maybe it's all an act on his part. Even if it's not an act, who's to say that he won't just go back to being the old Draco Malfoy once we finally get out of here?" Ginny abruptly tried to stand, but hit her head on a bookcase. She rubbed her head and swore as she crawled towards the exit.

Hermione followed. "Where are you going?" she asked once they were outside the cave.

"Well, I need to talk to Harry and Draco. It seems like there's nothing else to do."

"Good luck," Hermione smiled, "I'll go talk to Ron. Should I tell him about this situation? I'm afraid that he'll try to hop up and kill both Harry and Draco."

Ginny laughed. "Yeah, you probably should tell him anyway. But I know what he'll say. He's wanted me and Harry to be together for a long time. And he always has hated Draco."

"Well, I'll do my best to explain the situation to him, and I'm sure that he'll support you in whatever you decide."

"Thanks, Hermione, I don't know what I'd do without you," Ginny hugged her friend, and Hermione frowned. She decided that she would also tell Ron about the wand. He would probably want her to use it to get them all out of there, but then again, maybe that was what would be best. As Hermione held Ginny in an embrace, her frown turned to a smile. She would be sleeping in her own bed tonight.

Draco had been staring at the same page for the past twenty minutes. He wasn't reading, of course, he was doing something that he had been doing way too much this past week.

Thinking.

About the Weasley girl.

He couldn't get her off his mind. What was it? Was it just pure boredom that led him to be attracted to her? Was it scheming? Was it simply that Harry also wanted her, and he was Draco's arch rival? Or was it something more.

"I don't know what I see in that freckled faced Gryffindor," Draco muttered, throwing the book.

"What was that?" asked Harry from the table.

"I said it's time to switch," insisted Draco, "it's been a half hour. Besides, I'm starving."

"It is not time yet," said Harry with a mouthful of food, "just be patient."

For once, Draco didn't argue. He was again thinking about Ginny. He knew exactly what he saw in her. First off, she was funny. She made him smile, both with what she said and what she did. He actually had fun around her. Also, she had such a fiery little temper and doing things like kneeing him in the crotch (which was, admittedly, painful) and sending Harry to his death impressed Draco. But there was also a sense of vulnerability that hovered around her, one that she could not hide despite how much she tried. And this seemed more attractive than anything else.

Finally, there was just something about her, something he could not pin down. This quality made him say the most absurd things at the most absurd times. They made him act in ways that no Malfoy should ever act, and think in ways he never imagined himself thinking. He had no idea what it was, but it left him wanting more. It made her irresistible, freckles and all.

Harry watched Draco through suspicious eyes. He had finally managed to patch things up with Ginny only to have his nemesis burst in and try to take her. Draco was a Slytherin, the King of Slytherins, he was vicious and conniving and cruel. On top of all that, he had somehow managed to fool Ginny into thinking that she actually had feelings for him.

Draco looked up and saw Harry glaring at him. "What?" he asked in his best fake-innocent voice.

"Ginny is mine," said Harry flatly.

"Yours? I didn't know she was an object, a possession," said Draco as he got to his feet and sauntered over, commanding himself to keep his cool. "Besides, it's obvious that she likes me better."

"Obvious?" Harry scoffed, also standing, "the only thing that's obvious is that you're completely wrong for her. What are you doing, Malfoy? Playing around with her? It's not a game."

"I never said it was," growled Draco.

"Then, what, you actually think you can have a real relationship with her? A Gryffindor? A Weasley? A muggle-sympathizer? It doesn't take a Ravenclaw to point out all the problems there."

Draco frowned. Harry had a point. "Well some of us think that true feelings can conquer those things. Not that I'd expect you to know what true feelings are." He couldn't believe that he just said that, it sounded so incredibly cheesy, yet at the same time he actually believed it, in a way. Maybe that's what was so appealing about Ginny.

"Funny coming from you," Harry answered with spite. "Do you actually feel anything other than hate or greed or pride? That's what this is all about you know. Hate towards me, in that you only showed real interest in Ginny once I made up with her, so this whole thing is about getting back at me. Greed in that you want what you can't have, which is Ginny. And pride is that you can't stand the idea of any girl turning you down."

Draco spoke softly and evenly. "I have felt things around Ginny that I never knew were possible to feel. I have tried to deny it, tried to reason with myself, all in vain. There's just something about her that makes me feel not like myself, or maybe more like myself as I really am. Something that makes me see what living is really like..." he trailed off.

Harry laughed loudly, "Well, aren't you sentimental? That was the sappiest thing I've ever heard a guy say! You should go into the greeting card business!"

"Why you little..." Draco started to lunge at Harry, but Hermione screamed at them as she walked by.

"Grow up you two," she said as she walked towards the room where Ron was. "No fighting. I'll be watching." She disappeared behind the bookcase. Draco shrugged and sat down at the table, grabbing the food bag. Harry sat also, glaring at Draco.

"Now, what about you?" said Draco as he slowly munched his food.

"What about me?" echoed Harry, confused.

"Well, you come in here hating Ginny. Absolutely despising her. I've never seen such hatred, and keep in mind, I come from a family of Death Eaters. You can't stand to be around her, you're not able to say one civil word to her, you even give information about her to me-your worse enemy-so I can seduce her. Then all of the sudden everything's okay and you're in love with her again? Seems a bit suspicious to me."

"There's nothing suspicious about my feelings for Ginny!" Harry insisted. He snatched the bag away from Draco and reached into it. "But her feelings do seem a bit suspicious at times."

"Huh?" Draco's eyes darted up in surprise.

Harry's mind was working fast, overturning new thoughts that had been hidden, thoughts that now made perfect sense. "Think about it. With me, we reconciled. She apologized, she accepted my apologies, it looked like we were going to make a great couple. But then I see her practically snogging you. Did she feed you the same lines?"

Draco thought. "I guess I never thought of it like that. She does seem to be showing equal regard to both me and you, and that is a bit suspicious."

"Well then, you know what we have to do," said Harry.

Draco's eyes narrowed. "What's that?"

"Issue an ultimatum. It's either me or you, or if she can't decide, then neither of us. We can't sit around all of our lives waiting for her to make up her mind. So let's force her to do it right away."

"Yes," said Draco, "that actually sounds like a good idea, Potter. I'm in no mood to put up with her going back and forth. This is going to be settled today."

"Uh, hi guys," both boys turned to see Ginny standing at the side of the table, looking sheepish.

"Neither," insisted Ron, once again trying to get out of bed. "I don't want either of those gits messing with my sister. As far as I'm concerned, she should move to a nunnery and spend the rest of her days as far away from men as possible."

"Oh, Ron!" laughed Hermione as she pushed him back into bed. "They have good intentions."

"Not that I recall," he insisted, struggling against her. "Draco was trying to seduce her. Harry was giving him advice. Neither had real interest. It was just a game."

"Game?" Hermione grinned. "As I recall, it wasn't the only game this week. What do I recall...you and Harry chasing me around? A little bet to see who could get me to kiss them first?"

"Oh yeah," Ron lay back in bed. "I guess I won that bet, huh?"

Hermione playfully slapped him. "You're awful!" She giggled, "But in all fairness, I suppose you did win." Sitting down beside him, she ruffled his hair as she stared at the wall, deep in thought. "But poor Ginny. I would hate to have to make a decision like that."

Ron reached for her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "And you never will have to, if I have anything to do with it."

"Well well well, look who it is," Draco sneered up at Ginny.

"Right on cue," said Harry.

"Uh, I came over her to talk..." stuttered Ginny. She didn't know what to make of the boys' behavior.

"Yes I'm sure you did," said Draco.

Harry pushed a chair out for her. "Come, sit, let's talk."

"Uh...okay..." Ginny sat down, eyeing the two warily. Now that she was here, she had no idea what to say. She had come to a decision, at least what seemed right at the time being, but she didn't know how to express it. "I..."

"You have do decide now," said Harry.

"You can't lead us on forever," said Draco.

Ginny stared at them wide-eyed. She hadn't expected to be put on the spot like this. She hopped to her feet and walked over to a wall, which she punched hard. Her hand ached, but she ignored it. "Oh like it's that simple!" she wailed. "Do you have any idea how hard this is? There's not a cut-and-dry solution! Oh, I wish this week had never happened, so I wouldn't have to go through this!"

Harry stood and walked over to her. "I'm sorry Gin, I should have been more sympathetic."

Draco followed. "Yeah, I guess this can't be really easy. You don't have to decide now if you don't want to."

"No, that's okay," Ginny waved her hands. "I've come to a decision." It was the only way, she told herself. "Guys, it's so weird to have feelings for two people at the same time, but I think I've finally worked this out. The only feasible thing I can make out of this whole thing is that I want to be with..."

Ginny never finished her sentence. A loud crash came from the wall not three feet from the teenagers, and they were flung to the floor by the impact. The air was heavy with dust that obscured the figure that stepped into the library through the hole blasted in the wall.

"Well, there you are," a voice came through the haze. "We've been looking all over for you, Harry. And the rest of you too, of course."

The voice seemed familiar to Harry, but he couldn't place it. He got to his feet and strained his eyes to see the speaker. The figure took another step forward, and the cloud of dust cleared from his face.

Harry's jaw dropped as he recognized who it was. Draco was helping Ginny to her feet, and she also recognized the figure. A smile filled her face as it dawned on her. They were finally rescued.


	11. New Beginnings

Chapter Eleven: New Beginnings

Draco's eyes widened with recognition as he realized that the figure standing in the hole in the wall was their former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. "Professor Lupin?" He stared, dumbfounded.

"What was that?" Hermione came from the bedroom and shrieked when she saw Lupin. "Ron! Come out! We're saved!" Ron came limping from the bedroom.

"I'm glad to see you're all okay," grinned Lupin, pocketing his wand. "We've been looking for you five for awhile, but it had never dawned on me to look in the library. Well, not until I heard pounding on the wall."

"That was me." Ginny blushed.

"Knock. Of course." Draco rolled his eyes. "It's always the most obvious solution, isn't it?"

Lupin smiled. "So, I'll get an owl to Dumbledore right away. He'll be glad to know that you're safe."

"Dumbledore?" asked Harry, "where is he?" He looked behind Lupin into the trashed hallway. "And what happened? Were we attacked? Is everyone okay?"

Lupin grinned again. "One question at a time. Currently, Dumbledore is at St. Mungo's." The five teens gasped. "Don't worry, he'll be all right. But he got hit badly."

"Got hit?" asked Ron, "so there was a battle? Was it V...Vold...Volde..."

"Yes, it was Voldemort," replied Lupin. "He and Dumbledore had a nasty and extensive duel, which resulted in them both being injured and rendered unconscious. We were able to get Dumbledore to the hospital before he sustained further injuries. The Death Eaters took Voldemort before we were able to detain him, but there's no hospital they can bring him to, and the Death Eaters aren't exactly known for their healing skills, so things are looking bright for our side."

"My father," said Draco quickly, "was he there?" Concern reflected in his eyes, which had returned to a cold shade of blue.

"Yes, it seems that what brought on the attack was a massive jail break from Azkaban. The imprisoned Death Eaters, along with the dementors, met up with the free Death Eaters and Voldemort himself, and they all launched an attack on Hogwarts, presumably going for Harry and Dumbledore under the premise that once they were taken out, conquering the rest of the world would be a breeze."

"What about fatalities?" asked Hermione, "was anyone killed?"

"I'm happy to say that no one from our side was killed, although many Aurors who arrived at the scene were badly injured and now are also at St. Mungo's. The professors managed to get all the students into the secret underground passageways before the Death Eaters got to them, so they are all safe. The Death Eaters, it seemed, were not so lucky, we know that a few of them were killed, but their bodies were took before we were able to make positive identification."

"So my father..." said Draco softly, "...he could be dead."

Remus looked down at the boy. "Well, actually, no. I know for a fact that he's alive and kicking. It was he and Bellatrix Lestrange that were in the castle the longest, they continued to run through the hallways, presumably looking for Harry since Dumbledore was gone, until just about half an hour ago, when they somehow disappeared. We were able to confirm that they are now off school grounds, but where they went and how, we're not sure."

"But they could be hiding!" said Ginny with fear in her voice, "how can you be sure?"

"Oh, I can be sure," Lupin reached into his robes and pulled out the Marauder's Map. "After the battle, when we were not sure if the castle was safe yet, I remembered this and went searching through your dorm, Harry. I hope you don't mind." Harry shook his head. "This is also how I was able to locate the general area you five were in. Ginny's pounding helped that, too. But as I said, I need to get an owl to Dumbledore. He was extremely concerned when you could not be found, and I promised that I would inform him as soon as we had any news."

"Yeah, that's fine," said Harry. "It's great that we are finally out of here, but I'm a bit upset that I missed the battle."

Lupin laughed. "How did I know that you would say something like that, Harry? But don't worry, the war is far from over, and I'm certain we'll see more action before all is said and done. Anyway, I have to get this owl out, and the five of you need to report to your houses, where the heads are taking tally of the students." He started to walk through the hole in the wall, and then stopped, observing Ron, who was favoring his left leg. "Our own hospital wing has been transformed into a full blown healing ward, with all the injuries from the battle. You should get up there, have your leg looked at."

"Right," nodded Ron. Lupin walked away and the five stood in silence, all still a bit shocked at the abrupt change to the little world they had established in the past week.

"Well," said Hermione, "this is great. I'm glad that everyone's okay. Maybe now things can bet back to normal. Let's go, Ron." She walked over to him and threw her arm around his shoulder, helping him walk. He gave her a grateful smile.

"Thanks 'Mione. I don't know how I could manage without you."

Hermione laughed. "You tried for six years, remember? Well, at least we won't have to go through that again." The couple was almost out of the library when Hermione suddenly stopped. "Oh, one more thing." She dug deep into her dress and pulled out a wand. "Don't be mad. I just thought...thought that if I held onto it a bit, things might change. You know what I mean?" She tossed it to Ginny before walking away.

Ginny stared at the wand in her hands. Just seconds ago she was faced with a decision and was about to make a choice. But she didn't know what to do or say now. She had never been sure about the decision, but she had made it, and now she wondered at how if Lupin had been just a minute later the word "Draco" would have escaped her lips. She had just felt it, in her heart, that he was the better choice.

But suddenly they were free. Things were so different now, she was forced to think realistically. And the truth was so obvious, as it had been when Draco was interrogating Lupin on the state of the Death Eaters. They were from two different worlds. It would never work out. The only choice now seemed clear. Harry.

"So," Ginny said softly as she walked over to Harry and took his hand, "was Hermione right? Did things change?"

Harry looked at her, a hardened expression on his face. He didn't know what to make of this whole ordeal, but now that the outside was once again opened up, he was flooded with all the emotions he had felt towards her this past year. Hatred. Anger. Betrayal. She had rejected him and then sent him out to die, and he couldn't believe that he had ever thought he could forgive her for that. I_t must have been the library_, he told himself, _being stuck in there made me say funny things. _

On top of it all, it seemed as if she had been playing with him the whole time. There had been a point when he thought their relationship could be salvaged, but then he had seen her with Draco. And he wasn't about to sit around like a show horse and wait for her to choose him. "I told you once and I'll tell you again," he said harshly. "I can't forgive you for what you did. Being stuck in a library together changed nothing." He stormed off.

Ginny bit her lip as she watched him leave. She couldn't believe what was happening. All of the sudden it was like nothing at all changed, like they hadn't just spent that week together stranded in the library. It seemed that Harry was going to go right back to hating her. The air was silent for a moment, and Ginny hesitantly turned to Draco.

He laughed cruelly. "What do you want, Weasley? Seriously, what do you want from me? Don't think you're going to get it." His eyes lowered and something flashed in them, something genuine and different, like she had seen glimpses of inside the library. "No one likes being second choice," he said softly.

Then Draco straightened his back and hardened his expression. The glimpse in his eyes was gone. "I guess I'll be going too," he said emotionlessly. "I should assess the Death Eater casualties, and they'll be needing my leadership over in Slytherin." He cleared his throat and started to walk away. "Potter's right," he added, "nothing changed."

An immense feeling of loneliness overwhelmed Ginny. The words "nothing changed" echoed in her mind as she set off in the direction of the Gryffindor dormitory. There was clutter all over the floor, and she kicked the battle ruins with her feet as she walked. Nothing changed. Harry hated her again. Draco was just another face in the hallway. Nothing changed.

After a long hot shower, Ginny lay in bed. She was relieved that the whole ordeal was over, but she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Things were back to the way they had been before, except that Ron and Hermione seemed to have formed something more than friendship. But other than that, it was all the same.

Would things have been different if she had managed to say that she chose Draco before Lupin had burst in? Would Draco have accepted her, or would he be acting just as cruel as he was now once he realized his Death Eater responsibilities. "You weren't second choice," she whispered to the dark. "You weren't. I chose you. My heart chose you. I just figured that after all that happened, you wouldn't chose me. Maybe it would have never worked out, but I just wish I could somehow tell you...you were never second choice."

The darkness gave no reply or condolence and Ginny wiped the tears away from her eyes. She would have to put this past week behind her, forget what had happened. When anyone asked about it, she would have to say that they were simply stuck in a library for a week and had spent the whole time trying to get out. There were no surprising revelations, no love triangles, no confessed feelings. It was easy enough to believe now that everything had gone back to normal. It was like the whole thing had been a dream, or maybe a nightmare. Ginny closed her eyes, hoping to dream new dreams that would replace the memory of the past week.

But she couldn't get to sleep. Ginny sighed as she rolled over to her side. She couldn't get comfortable in this bed! Madame Pince's bed had been so soft, and the pillows were nothing like this one. Ginny didn't remember it being so hard!

Exhaling in frustration, she picked up the pillow and flung it across the room, only to find the reason for its uncomfortableness: there had been something underneath it. Ginny picked up the book and laughed loudly as she read the title. "101 Uses for your Wand Other that Magic- a Witch's Guide to Driving a Wizard Wild."

With a grin on her face, Ginny traced the words on the cover with her finger. "Oh the memories," she whispered sardonically before noticing a note sticking out from between the pages. She snatched it and eagerly tore it open.  
_  
Ginny: A wise man once said that being alone is no way to live. It's high time that genius took his own advice. If you're interested, meet me in the Astronomy Tower at midnight._

The note wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be. Ginny checked the time-12:03. She was three minutes late! Not allowing her mind time to think about the situation, she hopped to her feet and pulled a robe around her pajamas. Her eyes scanned the other beds in the dorm, and once she was satisfied that her roommates were fast asleep, she began tip-toeing across the room.

Her hand was on the door, about to open it up to allow her to travel to the Astronomy Tower and meet whatever her future held, when she stopped. What was she thinking? Walking over to her bed, she snatched her wand off her nightstand and stuck it in the pocket of the robe.

"You never know when it'll come in handy," Ginny thought with a grin before heading out the door.

Her heart was beating faster than she had ever thought was possible as she took the steps by two up to the top of the tower. As she reached the top and opened the door to the balcony, she saw his profile outlined against the moonless sky. He was leaning out into the night, with both hands on the edge, his head hanging down.

Ginny took a hesitant step forward, and noticed that his eyes were closed. "Draco?" she whispered. No response. "Draco?" This time it was a bit louder. He still remained motionless.

She took another step forward and tapped his shoulder. "For Merlin's sake, Ginny, I heard you the first time," he snapped, still not moving from the position.

Ginny gaped at him. "I'm sorry, I..."

Finally, Draco moved. He stood up, whirled around, and clamped his hand over her mouth. A sneer spread on his lips as he looked down at her, his face obscured in the midnight shadows. "Silence, Weaslette. You need to learn the value of silence."

He slowly withdrew his hand from her mouth and began to pace the balcony. "Silence. With silence, we don't have to worry about the fact that our families are on opposite sides of the war. Or that we're in rival houses. Or that all your friends are my arch enemies, and vice versa. Or that in every single aspect our lives are pitted against each other. Or..."

"Draco..."

"I said silence," Draco ordered. "Because in silence, we don't have to think. We can just feel, and..."

"Draco..." This time she said it a bit louder.

"Silence, woman!" he barked before continuing his lecture. "If we don't talk, and learn to listen and appreciate the silence, I don't have to worry about the fact that I'm supposed to be a cold heartless asshole who only cares for himself, and you don't have worry about the fact that everyone thinks you were made for Harry Potter, and..."

"DRACO!" He looked at her in surprise at the volume of her voice.

"Good, now that I've got your attention," she grinned. "If you think that you can give me orders in this relationship, you've got another thing coming." Draco laughed and opened his mouth, but Ginny silenced him with a wave of her hand. "Secondly, and most importantly, you need to take your own advice in more than one area."

"What are you..."

Ginny walked over to him, and this time put her hand over his mouth. "Silence, Malfoy. Take your own advice! After all, silence is ruined the moment you start to talk about it." She removed her hand and placed it at the back of his neck, pulling his face towards hers.

Draco grinned. "Talk is overrated," he said, just getting the words out before she crushed her lips on his.

The next day, the whole school gathered in the Great Hall to greet Dumbledore upon his return. There was also a feast to celebrate the end of the battle. Everyone was talking loudly and laughing, enjoying their last minutes of holiday before classes would once again resume.

At the Gryffindor table, Hermione was shaking her head at Ron as he shoved food into his mouth. "How about you try swallowing before you take your next bite!" she exclaimed, trying to sound upset but unable to disguise the laughter in her voice.

"But I finally know what I'm eating!" He exclaimed, grabbing a drumstick and taking a bite. "See? It tastes like chicken, not dirt or ear wax or anything else." He took another bite. "Bloody bag..."

"Mmmm, chicken!" It sounded appealing to Ginny, too, as she reached across to the platter of drumsticks. The same idea seemed to also cross Harry's mind, since he reached for the exact same drumstick, and grabbed instead Ginny's fingers. They both jumped and withdrew their hands immediately.

"Sorry," Ginny mumbled, looking down.

Hermione observed the situation, and nudged Harry. He sighed laboriously and brought his eyes to Ginny's face. "Gin, I didn't mean what I said. I think I've held this grudge too long, and it's time to let it go. I hope we could try and salvage our friendship."

"Our friendship," said Ginny, "that would be great!"

"Friendship?" asked Ron, his mouth still full. "I think you two should be more than friends."

Ginny blushed, horrified at what he had just said. She didn't want to make Harry upset again, but in light of last night's events, she sure couldn't see herself with him over Draco.

"No, Hermione and I already had this discussion," said Harry awkwardly, "and we think friendship is definitely the way to go with Ginny."

"Besides, I have a feeling her heart lies elsewhere," remarked Hermione with a wink and nudge of her head towards the Slytherin table.

"Huh?" asked Ron, looking from face to face.

Harry laughed. "Nevermind, you." He raised his goblet of Butterbeer towards Ginny. "To the sister I never had."

Ginny smiled and followed suit. "To my seventh brother!"

Hermione's glass went in the air, too. "To my best friends!"

Ron shrugged and did the same. "To not knowing what the bloody hell is going on!" The four goblets clinked in the center of the table, and the teens took long drinks from their respective glasses.

Ginny allowed her eyes to wander to the other side of the room, as they had done countless times during the meal. Draco was ignoring his fellow Slytherins, who were whispering in some sort of a huddle, and staring at her. She raised an eyebrow and lifted her goblet in his direction. With a subtle smile Draco lifted his own and tipped his head to her before taking a sip. "To finding love," whispered Ginny.

"To new beginnings," Draco muttered before polishing the remainder of his glass.

THE END!

A/N: OH THE CHEESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was going to end it with both boys rejecting Ginny and have her follow in the footsteps of Ms. Figg and grow up to be a homely cat-loving spinster. But the poll demanded otherwise. There was overwhelming support for Draco: 78 of reviewers, as opposed to the 14 who were pulling for Harry. The rest of the percentage points (8) went for either no one hooking up, or strange matches including characters not even in this story, such as Lavender, Neville, and Cho. Go figure. A couple people thought Draco and Hermione should hook up, and even more people wanted Harry dead. Sorry guys, can't make everyone happy. Plus, I liked it best this way myself, go D/G! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!


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